Securing Communications for Operational Military Success

By Nicole Allen, Senior Marketing Executive at Salt Communications.

The significance in having Secure Communications for Military Operations.

Thanks to expertly planned operational communications, military duties can be carried out in a successful manner to avoid crisis situations.

To preserve the highest level of security for military communications a method of secure communication technology should be deployed. This should protect and facilitate communications for operational actions in response to crucial events while troops are on the ground and engaged in missions.

Why Secure Communications is important for Military teams. 

The use of mobile devices for communication has become so widespread in modern society that it has even impacted the military and defence sectors. On these mobile devices soldiers regularly use consumer messaging systems to share and discuss sensitive events. Thanks to soldiers now being able to utilise mobile devices on the battlefield, combatants can now discuss and assess complex and dynamic situations in a way that was previously not feasible. Imagine two fire squads going toward an object in a steep location in arrowhead formation when they are hit by effective enemy fire and are compelled to retire to hostile territory. In the case that the terrain limits line-of-sight contact between the two teams, mobile technology can ensure that they can analyse the situation collaboratively and react more effectively. But surely these conversations should be being had in a secure manner?

A secure communications system can ensure that the two teams can jointly assess the situation and take more effective action if the terrain prevents line-of-site contact between them, while reporting key information back to HQ for effective and secure decision making.

Communication is key

The capacity to communicate clearly on the battlefield has been crucial since the beginning of warfare. The ability of commanders to communicate instructions to soldiers in reaction to a shifting tactical environment has always been an essential component of military endeavour, from the trumpets and cornets of ancient Rome to the carrier pigeons and runners of World War I to modern software-defined radios. Military operations today depend on this continual information transfer between troops and base stations, including messages, calls and media sharing. There are greater risks in today’s military operations with the advanced technology in place to intercept these communications.

Portable mobile devices for team communication within a squad or section have only recently been made available to troops. For the kinds of operations carried out by a dismounted infantry squad within the relatively confined geographic region, shouting and gestures were previously thought to be sufficient. The use of devices on the field soon demonstrated their advantages, particularly in enabling precise movement coordination when screened or behind cover. As expected, unfortunately, many of these operations and processes are being performed on insecure communications channels, like WhatsApp and Signal and even GSM channels.

High-performance secure communications technologies are a MUST for these conversations. According to estimates, the market for tactical communication would be valued at USD $147.8 billion by 2029. Over the next ten years, it is anticipated that demand for communications equipment with ever-sophisticated capabilities will continue to soar.

With over 75% of these engagements focusing on cyber security, military networks, and secure communications networks as a focal point and obvious strategic driver, military IT and C4ISR contracts are expected to be worth a total of USD 100 billion by this period. 

Dependability when it matters

In order to ensure that crucial information can be exchanged when it counts most, military secure communications networks must be dependable and private under all circumstances, especially in deteriorated and denied network environments. Since satellite network bandwidths are frequently limited in conflict zones, communication integrity is threatened by high latency and tough operating features, soldiers must be able to function even in locations with poor connectivity infrastructure, and often in areas that rely on satellite networks.

When it comes to the official communications of the military and in the institutions of the defence sector, the safety and security of data are of utmost importance. Every military leader is in charge of making sure that their comrades are safe and secure.

The degree of security, encryption, and compartmentalisation of the connection closely correlates with the success rate of properly protecting sensitive and private information. Countries frequently have multiple national military networks as well as distinct networks for various tasks. To enable information sharing across different teams, an efficient communications system must be able to operate across these networks in an efficient and most importantly, secure manner.

The dependability, integrity, and compatibility of the underlying software is becoming more and more important as military operations call for ever-sophisticated secure communication capabilities. Implementing, maintaining, and managing conventional military message handling systems (MMHS) can be challenging and expensive. By using a system such as Salt Communications can quickly and simply implement a secure military messaging system to ensure your force has confidence in the security of your communications.

In a number of military and civilian scenarios, having that additional security can offer life-saving early warning of otherwise invisible threats, therefore the ability to share information in the moment is vital. Salt has been deployed in these environments across the globe leveraging low latency networks to share sensitive information to and from troops on the ground. Being able to generate structured and secure reports allows military organisations to access and act upon key events in seconds, with the security required for fast moving and time sensitive environments.

Secure your military communications today – sign up for a free trial of Salt Communications contact us on info@saltcommunications.com or visit our website at https://saltcommunications.com/military/

About Salt Communications 

Salt Communications is a multi-award winning cyber security company providing a fully enterprise-managed software solution giving absolute privacy in mobile communications. It is easy to deploy and uses multi-layered encryption techniques to meet the highest of security standards. Salt Communications offers ‘Peace of Mind’ for Organisations who value their privacy, by giving them complete control and secure communications, to protect their trusted relationships and stay safe. Salt Communications is headquartered in Belfast, N. Ireland, for more information visit Salt Communications.

References:

https://www.britannica.com/technology/military-communication

https://www.britannica.com/technology/military-communication/World-War-II-and-after

https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Asterix/02-RomanBrass.html

https://blog.bliley.com/10-popular-software-defined-radios-sdr

https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/exciting-tales-and-top-secret-work-of-pigeons-in-the-first-world-war/#:~:text=as%20messenger%20pigeons.-,In%20the%20First%20World%20War%2C%20carrier%20pigeons%20were%20used%20to,was%20about%20to%20take%20place.

https://www.mymobileworkers.com/blog/military-smartphones#:~:text=Mobile%20America&text=On%20a%20battlefield%2C%20it%20allows,paper%20maps%20and%20intelligence%20reports.

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https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2016/4/7/on-joint-leadership-the-importance-of-communication#:~:text=Leadership%20is%20demanding%2C%20and%20effective,in%20combat%20or%20on%20staff.

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https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/role-technology-war-professor-andy-pardoe/?trk=pulse-article_more-articles_related-content-card

https://www.militaryaerospace.com/computers/article/16710872/wearable-computers-help-make-individual-soldiers-part-of-the-digital-battlefield

https://www.army-technology.com/buyers-guide/army-command-and-control-systems/

About the Author

Nicole Allen, Senior Marketing Executive at Salt Communications. Nicole has been working within the Salt Communications Marketing team for several years and has played a crucial role in building Salt Communications reputation. Nicole implements many of Salt Communications digital efforts as well as managing Salt Communications presence at events, both virtual and in person events for the company.

Nicole can be reached online at (LINKEDIN, TWITTER  or by emailing (nicole.allen@saltcommunications.com) and at our company website https://saltcommunications.com/.