PacStar system brings secure communications to the front

PacStar and Fidelis have partnered to create a solution that secures military communications at the tactical edge.

On the front lines, the military must defend not just service members and equipment, but also secure communications across a multitude of devices, operating systems and platforms.

The PacStar Tactical Fidelis Cybersecurity System is designed to protect in-theater, executive vehicle-mounted and forward operating base communications. It helps networking specialists with configuration, management and troubleshooting at the network edge by using "a single pane of glass" approach to incident response. It automates detection and validation of alerts, determining appropriate responses and presenting resolutions, PacStar and Fidelis Cybersecurity said in their joint announcement.

Through the collaboration with network security firm Fidelis, the PacStar system can run malware detection, intrusion prevention and threat analytics so soldiers in the field can automatically monitor for abnormalities. 

The core system is based on a PacStar 451 rugged, compact server module that hosts analytics, management and sensor functions. The PacStar IQ-Core software features a graphical user interface that helps “communications specialists in the field to configure equipment, troubleshoot, set it up without having to be world experts in the dizzying array of technologies being deployed in the field,” PacStar CTO Charlie Kawasaki said.

PacStar's IQ-Core software is in use in the Defense Department's Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment 1 program.

“We saw this as an opportunity to create a product that would help to address the needs of the tactical networks using the same technology that is in the DOD enterprise,” Kawasaki said.