Coast Guard fuses data sources

The many data sources involved in the maritime domain awareness (MDA) project must eventually make their way to users’ workstations. The Coast Guard has used Trusted Computer Solutions’ SecureOffice Trusted Thin Client since the product received accreditation at the top-secret and secret levels in 2006. It allows Coast Guard users to access multiple networks from their workstations, said Ed Hammersla, TCS’ chief operating officer. The company is beginning to move the product into the unclassified area, Hammersla said, which has implications for MDA.“Many of the pieces of information that are important for MDA are coming from unclassified sources,” he said, citing shipping companies and container manifests as examples.SecureOffice Trusted Thin Client consists of desktop terminals linked to a distribution console. Each thin-client device communicates via an encrypted connection to the console, which can access multiple information sources, Hammersla said.