one IPVPN Field for secure connected operations in the military

About the job

Modern military operations are highly networked – and thus dependent on stable and secure communication. However, current conflicts show how vulnerable these connections are, especially when they run over public networks – a weak point with potentially serious consequences. With secure hardware and software, these risks can be specifically minimised.

Challenging terrain, changing conditions and a dynamic operational picture place high demands on central command. Reconnaissance elements, sensors and mobile systems continuously collect information and transmit it to the command centre. There, the data flows are consolidated, analysed and prepared for operational decision-making, in order to then achieve effect back to the troops through orders.

This could be how a military exercise in Switzerland unfolds. Decentralised operations with multiple units are doomed to fail without digital networking. The flow of information determines speed, coordination and security – and thus itself becomes a potential target for attack.

When it suddenly goes silent

Cyber operations are now deliberately used to weaken the enemy’s communication and operational capability. For example, Russia attacked the civilian satellite network KA-SAT shortly before its invasion of Ukraine, thereby blocking coordinated weapon systems of the Ukrainian defence.

The case illustrates how great the danger from cyber-attacks is today. Because defence systems rely on an increasing number of digitised devices ("Software Defined Defence"), successful attacks can have catastrophic consequences – not only for individual operations but for the defence capability of an entire country.

Military communication over public networks

Ukraine has suffered from the interlinking of civilian and military communication infrastructure: The public KA-SAT network was not sufficiently protected. At the same time, the shared use of public networks also offers decisive advantages: better coverage, greater capacity and lower expansion costs.

The Swiss military also combines internal connections such as the secure radio network "Polycom" and the fibre optic network "Führungsnetz Schweiz" with the use of cheaper civilian networks ("Project TK-A"). This shared use of public networks means that additional protective mechanisms must necessarily be implemented.

Because military communication requires the highest confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience. To ensure that information about location, number and condition of troops is always protected, security solutions are needed that guarantee secure data transmission even in private, insecure public and hybrid networks.

Secure data encryption is indispensable

Virtual Private Networks (VPN) ensure that information transferred over public networks cannot be compromised. But VPN is not just VPN. And not every VPN is equally secure. The attack on the KA-SAT network succeeded only because the hackers gained access to the satellite configuration via a security vulnerability in a VPN application.

To prevent data from being read or manipulated, VPN connections should be based on future-proof cryptographic methods. Because with advances in quantum technology, currently used standard encryption methods are increasingly under pressure: What is considered secure today may no longer be sufficient in the future. If attackers proceed according to the motto "Harvest now, decrypt later", the encrypted data of today will already be an open book tomorrow.

Quantum-secure, performant and robust: one IPVPN Field

As in physical warfare, attacks must also be isolatable in the digital realm to maintain operational capability. This means: Sensitive tactical and strategic information must be strictly separated from lower-classified data and comprehensively protected so that cyber-attacks cannot affect ongoing operations.

A powerful system that combines the necessary hardware and software as well as secure one management is the one IPVPN Field. It enables the secure exchange of information, which cannot be viewed or altered by unauthorised persons – even in insecure public or hybrid networks.

The system can be combined and expanded arbitrarily with different IPVPN variants of the one product family. The required security criteria of all security levels up to and including "Secret" are met: Quantum-secure end-to-end encryption for voice, video or data applications and secure management of the communication infrastructure.

At the same time, the one IPVPN Field was specially designed for practical use in the field. It enables highly secure and resilient communication – even under extreme conditions and in insecure networks.

Learn in the whitepaper "Rethinking IPVPN security: With quantum-secure encryption and Security by Design" how communication infrastructures can be protected against current and future cyber threats – and what requirements modern IPVPN systems must meet for secure operations.

Image source: © VBS/DPPS – Philipp Schmidli