Information Assurance for Airborne Networks

Because Airborne Networks (AN) range farther faster than their surface counterparts and because they use omni-directional antennas to provide communications visibility in all directions, they are potentially less robust and more susceptible to enemy attacks. Developing Information Assurance (IA) approaches for AN must start with a good understanding of the mission and how the dynamics and communications characteristics impact availability, confidentiality, integrity, and non-repudiation. As the communications systems transition from legacy, mission specific structures to an integrated, networked architecture, more data can be disseminated more quickly, but the potential for attack over the network also increases. Thus, we must develop an IA architecture that incorporates new technology and leverages the available connectivity to mitigate potential attacks. We will present some initial architecture and implementation approaches along with a plan for trade studies that arrive at the best benefit to cost tradeoff.