MLS Clouds
I now bring the ‘Cloud’ blog series to an end by discussing MLS clouds and how BlueSpace fits into the cloud topic. If you’ve missed the last two...
GeoSpace
A unified operating picture of the battle theater
BlueSpace has created a unified operating picture of the battle theater in GeoSpace, a multi-level secure (MLS) command and control interface that utilizes the BlueSpace Trusted Service Bus and Client Framework, as well as a trusted workstation and Google Earth.
BlueSpace has heard many requirements for MLS geospatial applications. The initial focus of GeoSpace was combining multiple separate Common Operating Pictures on different networks into a Unified Operating Picture of the battle theater – an MLS C2 platform. BlueSpace has since expanded its focus to include geospatial visualization and analysis of multi-INT data from different networks – driven by requirements from the intelligence community.
The BlueSpace GeoSpace system runs on a trusted workstation, and can be deployed on platforms such as the SABER (DoDIIS Trusted Workstation). A main window runs at a dominant label to the compartmented (joint) or country (coalition) networks, and this dominant network can be limited to the C2 facility, such as an AWACS plane or command tent. Physical connections from each network can be plugged into a single server running the trusted operating system, which then takes responsibility for enforcing mandatory access controls (MAC).
In the user interface, when an operator selects a unit, the path the unit is travelling on is shown, together with some details about the unit. If an operator clicks to view the unit’s orders, the system will instigate a new process running at the appropriate compartment or country label for that unit, and all the packets then travel over the correct network label. An appropriately authorized operator can change the unit’s orders, and does so with authentication and encryption services provided by that network domain, just like using a separate single-level PC connected to that compartment or country network. An operator can also send a chat message to a unit. In a deployed system, this can be connected to the existing C2 apparatus with single-level message transformation or web services. In addition, the operator can have an incoming message traffic feed of relevant messages.
GeoSpace relies on the BlueSpace Client Framework and Connect application on the end user desktop to manage application windows and action requests at the different security levels. A GeoSpace Application Appliance must be hosted in the cloud, connected to each of the networks in which mail stores reside. The GeoSpace Application Appliance itself contains instances of BlueSpace’s Trusted Service Bus, Mashup Server and the GeoSpace Application Server.
MSNBC Affiliate TV Coverage of CWID 2010 with BlueSpace GeoSpace Featured
