Originally published by Adam Stone in C4iSR magasine

Read the first part here.

SECURITY: THE LONG-STANDING ISSUE

In practical terms, the communications breakdown today typically is due to the method of carrying calls. ISDN lines do not have nearly the voice, data and video capabilities of today’s IP-based systems, nor can the two readily interconnect. Yet much of the military remains locked into the older methodology. Even as VoIP continues to rise in prominence, the military still lags behind in the use of it. Even as intelligence has migrated to end terminals in the IP world, the continued use of legacy networks hinders military leaders from taking full advantage of these capabilities.

Originally published by Adam Stone in C4iSR magasine and underwritten by REDCOM

Advances in technology are helping to break down the barriers to telecommunications interoperability that have long stymied military planners. These advances greatly improve military communications capabilities, providing unprecedented situational awareness, better security and broader options for virtually every communications scenario.

While today’s military boasts a range of telecommunications technologies, compatibility issues can arise. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), time-division multiplexing (TDM), satellite communications, cellular, tactical radios, SCIP cryptographic devices, Wi-Fi and WiMAX: All are useful, but they don’t always play well together. This can have harmful tactical consequences. In a battlefield scenario, for example, it is unacceptable for the front line to lose contact with the command center.

Ensuring secure voice, data and radio communications between NATO allies in a common theatre of operation can be a difficult, even impossible task in forward operations. As encryption codes are secret, country-specific and are not shared, collaborating without risking eavesdropping from unwanted entities is a real threat.

NATO has 29 member nations, and each has circumstances that change from year to year. Geopolitical shifts can mean that a ‘friendly’ country cannot be considered as such permanently. For this reason, sharing encryption keys carries its weight of potential future risks, and understandably, countries want to maintain their independence as much as possible.

2017 is almost over and we're already working on new blog posts for 2018. In the meantime, here are the most-read stories about emergency management this year!

Over the past few months, we have seen a number of disasters that have happened all over this country. As I have read the reports and the articles about these events, I keep seeing a common thread that has been a serious issue in all of them, communications.