Three land NSA development work
General Dynamics Corp., L-3 Communications Corp. and ViaSat Inc. each won $10 million contracts to help develop an inline encryption device for high-speed classified networks.
Three companies each won $10 million contracts from the National Security Agency to help develop an inline encryption device for high-speed classified networks.
The winning companies were General Dynamics Corp., Falls Church, Va.; L-3 Communications Corp., New York; and ViaSat Inc., Carlsbad, Calif.
The NSA device will encrypt sensitive information transmitted over the Internet and other Internet protocol-based networks. The resulting Gigabit Ethernet Encryptors will be compliant with the NSA's High-Assurance IP Encryption standards, which were set in place to ensure interoperability with future generations of IP encryptors developed for the government.
Each company will build a prototype of the device and will compete to build production units, said Bruce Rowe, a spokesman for ViaSat.
The NSA plans for the encryptor to be a part of the Global Grid Program, the Defense Department network for transmitting classified information using IP. All three companies plan to fold the work into commercial products.