Secure wireless local area network (SWLAN)

There is a growing desire/requirement in the military to send large amounts of information (large data files or streaming video) through a wireless network. Existing military wireless communication devices/networks have a tremendous limitation as to data rate. Most existing military wireless networks/devices transmit at much less than 500 Kbps, which is not acceptable. The commercial sector has developed wireless networks/devices that are based on the 802.11 protocol and have the ability to transmit at rates as high as 56 Mbps. While this rate is desirable, there are other limitations of the 802.11 protocol that make it unsuitable for a military environment. These include information security, transmission security, limited range and operation in a highly mobile environment. The paper describes ViaSat´s secure wireless local area network (SWLAN) product that is based on a modified commercial off the shelf 802.11 technology integrated with ViaSat´s high assurance type 1 (or type 3) inline network encryptor (INE) technology. With the combination of 802.11 and INE technology, this product can provide extremely secure (both COMSEC and TRANSEC) mobile wireless data communication at distances greater than 1 km at rates up to 56 Mbps in a battlefield environment. In addition, the SWLAN product allows users to deploy non-CCI repeaters, which reduces the possibility of transmission security compromises and helps in situations where retrieving a repeater is not possible.