5 things you need to know When choosing a solution for secure radio communications

Transcription

1 When choosing a solution for secure radio communications

2 When choosing a solution for secure radio communications 5 things you need to know When choosing a solution for secure radio communications Choosing a solution for secure communications over radio is a major decision. There are five important considerations that can affect your everyday operations. You should look at these before making your decision: Will there be disruptions of your daily operations? How secure is this solution really? Can this system adapt to your changing needs as well? Can you find the equipment and features that you need? Whom can you trust to deliver what you need? This document gives an answer to these five questions.

3 Choose a solution that does not disrupt your daily operations When the decision has been made and it is time to adopt the new radio communication system, your organisation will go through two phases: Building the new system, setting up the network equipment, configuring the radio devices, and other tasks that are purely technical. Bringing the new system into use. Planning how to manage the day-to-day tasks with the new comms system. People also need to be trained to use the new system. Some radio communication solutions are very simple to set up, and the first phase of system adoption may look temptingly fast and easy. Where these simple systems often fail, however, is in the adoption phase. The simplest communication system will not be very flexible, so people will have to adapt. Because the simple system cannot work in many different ways, people will usually have to adopt new ways of working. With another choice, however, your day-to-day operations can continue as before, because the system can adapt itself to your earlier ways of communicating with radios for example in very large communication groups. The right communication system can connect to your old system so people who still use the old system can easily talk with the people in the new system. If you plan the adoption phase in enough detail in advance and if you choose a better, flexible system, your people should be able to continue their work more or less as usual also during the transition period. A flexible system can ensure that you do not have to change your operational models. So the question is, do you want to accommodate to the system, or would you prefer a system that accommodates to your needs? Make sure it s secure You are looking for a secure radio communication system. Any violation of security may mean that your communications leak into wrong hands. Proper security helps guarantee noninterrupted services, so you need to take a close look at the topic of security and from at least the following points of view: Confidentiality. Are communications safe from eavesdropping? Is it certain that only authorised people can hear and see the communications? Integrity. Can the users trust the communications? Is information accurate and consistent? Authenticity. Is it certain that only intended people can use the radio services? Can people trust the identity of the other party? Non-repudiation. Can the authenticity of communication be proven? Are network activities recorded? Is it possible to call up an accurate chain of communications later, to find out what really happened and when? Availability. Are there blind spots? Will communications get through? Will the radio comms network be up and running even in serious circumstances such as during a flood or an earthquake? Look for first class security. It is easy for a radio comms system supplier to check a box security, but does the system really meet your requirements?

4 When choosing a solution for secure radio communications Select the solution that can bring you new efficiencies The project of buying a new radio communication system may stem from an urgent need. For example, the existing system may be difficult or impossible to update, or it may be obsolete and spare parts not available. The most urgent need therefore is to just get the new system up and working. But what comes after that? You should have an idea about which new efficiencies and improvements you can gain from the new system. Make sure that the new system is flexible enough so you can introduce new, improved operational models when your people are ready. Changing the comms system and the operational models at the same time may be too much, but you are likely to want some changes later. Significant efficiencies can be gained from choosing a single radio network for both voice and data. People do not have to carry two different devices. Training the people is faster and easier, too. Applications give additional possibilities for improving operational efficiencies. For example, Automatic Vehicle/Person Location (AVL/APL) combined with status information are a powerful tool for better management of fleets. Team leaders can keep up-to-date on the position and status of their teams, so allocating them to new assignments is fast and easy. Choose a proven technology provided by many suppliers Radio users have many needs, and some of them may be very specific to your operations. It makes sense to choose a technology with suitable products readily available and whose suppliers adapt to your investment cycles and are committed to your needs over a long period of time. This ensures that your organisation gets the kind of radios they need and that the earlier models continue to work in your system. New, emerging technologies have one typical shortcoming when compared to proven and mature standards: there are fewer suppliers to choose from. In a proven, competitive market, buyers can choose between several suppliers. They can select the supplier of radio network infrastructure to be different from the supplier of radio terminals. TETRA, for example, has such a market. Newer standards and technologies may have a completely different situation. Choose a supplier with proven ability to deliver what you need After a long and careful research of user requirements and thorough evaluation of how the suppliers promise to meet these requirements, the decision-makers come to the final question: whom can we trust to deliver what we need? The supplier may have indicated that their system will meet your requirements but you may end up with less than you wanted. Proven references from similar projects and examples of operational use help you decide which supplier to trust to deliver what you need.

5 How to make the right choice? When choosing a solution for secure radio communications, make sure you will get the best support for your day-to-day operations by Choosing a solution that does not disrupt daily operations Checking more than one aspect of security Selecting a solution that can adapt to your changing needs Preferring a proven technology with several suppliers Choosing a supplier with proven capability to deliver what you need. Minimise disruptions to daily operations Choosing a TETRA solution from Airbus Defence and Space helps ensure that the new system will not interfere with your day-to-day operations, because it can be adapted to your current ways of communicating with radios and to the existing operational models. Later, the many advanced features and possibilities in the system can offer you major advantages if you want to improve the way you run your operations. Maximise security Security of communications is a critical consideration for professional organisations today. The TETRA standard has been developed to meet extreme requirements of security. Authentication of radios, Air interface encryption, and even end-to-end encryption are all included in the standard. The TETRA solutions from Airbus Defence and Space, in particular, implement security throughout the network, combining encrypted communication with complete authentication. For example, the network requires every radio to authenticate before they are allowed access, and radios also authenticate the network. Neither fake radios nor a fake network will work. In addition, these solutions include mechanisms that ensure the secure management of the network and also secure management of users. Airbus Defence and Space references in public safety are further proof that the system is secure from the start of the project to everyday operations of adding new users and maintaining the radio network. Security provided by Airbus Defence and Space in operational TETRA networks: BOS radio network in Germany, one of the largest digital radio networks in the world. All traffic in the network is end-to-end encrypted. All radio terminals use a smartcard certified by the BSI (German governmental office of security). VIRVE authority network in Finland. This nationwide radio network is part of Finland s extremely secure core network TUVE. VIRVE is the secure radio comms network in use by the Finnish government and authorities and it has been in operational use since The network has enabled the Finnish authorities to define and implement a security strategy and plan their operations including all communication during exceptional circumstances. RAKEL public safety network in Sweden. The authorities strict security requirements were the reason to choose TETRA as technology for the nationwide radio network. The first Swedish authorities adopted the RAKEL network for their secure comms in 2006 and the network has proven many times over to meet and even exceed the users security requirements. RA- KEL users have embraced the freedom of choice and organizations use radio devices from a number of different suppliers.

6 When choosing a solution for secure radio communications Ensure the possibilities to change and grow The TETRA solution from Airbus Defence and Space has been developed from the user's point of view. It offers all the vital services that professionals need, and its flexibility allows it to adjust to the particular needs of each organisation. When your organisation is adopting a new radio comms solution, they may need to use the legacy system in parallel. TETRA from Airbus Defence and Space also offers many options to connect legacy systems. If your organisations or operations change, the radio comms system needs to support you and adjust. The TETRA system from Airbus Defence and Space outperforms others when it comes to managing talk groups and group memberships. The new generation Tactilon Suite offers an efficient way to create and manage users in the communication network. You may be promised a complete set of functionalities, but you should check that the features are not implemented only in the radios. If they are, changes in your organisation or operational models may require changing the radios configurations. This would be laborious and time-consuming and there would be a big risk to end up having a number of different radio configurations in the field. Make sure there is freedom of choice Choose a technology that does not limit your options. A TETRA radio system works even when radio terminals come from different vendors for less mature standards, this may not be so clear. TETRA IOP-Process (interoperability between different vendors) was created to protect users; to ensure that products from different vendors are tested and proven to work together. The TETRA market is also big enough so you can find radios and other solutions to match your needs. The selection includes handhelds, mobile terminals for vehicles, small-size terminals handhelds, covert terminals, and embedded data modems. All these very different products are available now and they are also available for several different frequencies in different countries. Police forces and power companies alike can find and choose different radio terminals and use them in their very different fields. There is continuous new development in radio terminals, but also on the system side. Improvements in data services and data speeds are examples of latest developments.

7 Who can deliver? It is crucial to take a close look at these five things when choosing a solution for secure radio communications. The TETRA solution from Airbus Defence and Space meets the needs. This solution has proven its fit-for-purpose in real operations and in exacting environments. The experienced implementation team from Airbus Defence and Space can bring solutions into operation in optimal schedule. These are just three examples of TETRA systems delivered by Airbus Defence and Space: CLP Power, Hong Kong, China CLP Power delivers a 99.99% reliable electricity supply to more than 2.2 million customers in the Hong Kong SAR. CLP Power uses a TETRA system from Airbus Defence and Space. It was the first 800 MHz TETRA system in the world when it became operational in They started with voice services and have now evolved their TETRA network into a control system that monitors and regulates their power distribution network. Lechwerke AG, Germany Lechwerke is an energy company in the southern part of Germany. It uses a TETRA system that provides voice and data services to the company and to external customers, including an external utility customer. KEPCO, South Korea The Korean KEPCO is one of the biggest energy companies in the world. They opted for a TETRA system from Airbus Defence and Space for secure and available communications in The communication system was selected to meet the company's needs especially in automated field operations; in control and measurement such as Power Distribution Automation; and in Automatic Meter Reading. Choose a TETRA solution from Airbus Defence and Space for your secure communications. Find out more about radio communication solutions from Airbus Defence and Space:

8 when choosing a solution for secure radio communications Choose a solution that does not disrupt daily operations Check more than one aspect of security Select a solution that adapts to what you need now and in the future Make sure you have a choice between suppliers Choose a supplier proven to be able to deliver what you need Contacts Airbus Defence and Space Landshuter Str Unterschleissheim Germany T: +49 (0) F: +49 (0) Airbus Defence and Space MetaPole 1, boulevard Jean Moulin CS Elancourt Cedex France T: +33 (0) Airbus Defence and Space Hiomotie Helsinki Finland T: marketing@cassidian.com The contents of this document are copyright 2014 Airbus Defence and Space. All rights reserved. This is not a contractual document. A license is hereby granted to download and print a copy of this document for personal use only. No other license to any other intellectual property rights is granted herein. Unless expressly permitted herein, reproduction, transfer, distribution or storage of part or all of the contents in any form without the prior written permission of Airbus Defence and Space is prohibited. The content of this document is provided as is, without warranties of any kind with regards its accuracy or reliability, and specifically excluding all implied warranties, for example of merchantability, fitness for purpose, title and non-infringement. In no event shall Airbus Defence and Space be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages, or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use of the document. Airbus Defence and Space reserves the right to revise the document or withdraw it at any time without prior notice. The product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks or trade names of their respective owners.