http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/44286-1.html
By Patrick Marshall
05/18/07
In a first, the U.S. Navy has approved the use of 802.11g wireless
devices for use by personnel boarding suspect vessels.
Overseen by the Navy's Program Executive Office for C4I, the Expanded
Maritime Interception Operations (EIMO) wireless system provides a data
link between crews on interdicted vessels and their home ship up to a
few nautical miles away. Unlike a simple radio unit, these wireless
links can transmit biometric data, scanned documents, digital photos and
e-mail from the boarding team, allowing near real-time analysis of such
artifacts. The units use the 802.11g wireless protocol and Federal
Information Processing Standard 140-2 encryptions standards.
The Office of Naval Research commissioned this project in March 2006.
The EMIO wireless system is designed not to interfere with other
shipboard systems and to meet all operational requirements, including
security requirements. According to a press release from the Navy, the
system “mitigates the critical issue of timely data accessibility that
impacts decision-making, safety and data preservation.”
The first installation of the system was on the USS Cole in April 2007.
Received on Mon May 21 01:28:04 2007