Lock down links from anywhere

OK, so you’re not a government contractor operating out of Iraq. Maybe you’re just a healthcare company concerned about protecting private information, or you’re a technology or pharmaceutical company with intellectual property to keep under wraps. In these and similar scenarios, accessing your sensitive information remotely could expose it to capture by third parties. To prevent eavesdropping, you need to use a communications device that provides a high level of encryption.

The SwiftLink 1400 does exactly that. With this flexible device, you can communicate over a secure link from virtually anywhere on the planet using almost any method of access. During my tests of this device, I communicated via the Iridium satellite system from the middle of the Chesapeake Bay; via T-Mobile’s GSM and GPRS networks; via a Wi-Fi connection from a Borders bookstore; via a plain old dial-up link; and via an Ethernet connection from a hotel room. About the only means of communication I didn’t use was Morse code over shortwave radio. The SwiftLink worked in every case, although in one instance a new 802.11b card had to be installed when the first one failed.

The SwiftLink acts as an interface between your computer and the outside world. It can connect to a satellite phone, an analog or digital phone line, an Ethernet network, a Wi-Fi LAN, or a GSM or GPRS digital network. Except when creating a secure satellite link, which requires you to supply a secure Iridium phone, the SwiftLink needs no external equipment. It contains the required GSM/GPRS and Wi-Fi radios and the required telephone interfaces. The SwiftLink hooks up to your computer through a serial connection that runs at speeds as fast as 33.6Kbps.

To use the SwiftLink, you initiate a secure call and, once the encryption is operating, simply communicate. Linking to a secure endpoint — the SwiftLink 1400 Homestation or another Future Narrowband Digital Terminal device — is somewhat automated, depending on how you’re connecting. You can also make unencrypted connections to nonsecure endpoints. The built-in encryptor, a Sectéra TalkSecure Wireline (Type 4), uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) with 192-bit encryption. The SwiftLink can also be equipped with National Security Agency-certified encryption modules if that’s what you need.

Using the SwiftLink isn’t particularly difficult, but it’s not exactly intuitive, either. You have to set up in advance the mode of communication you’re going to use. This can be tedious if you’re often on the move and frequently switching among LAN, cellular, and Wi-Fi connections. For example, each time you use Wi-Fi, you may need to reconfigure the wireless card using the included NetGear HTML page. You may need to make similar configuration changes if you’re operating from different areas supported by different GSM or GPRS providers. There are different configuration tools for different functions, and you select the means of connection you’ll be using by rotating a knob on top of the unit.

During my tests, I found secure voice communication to be strongly affected by the available data rates. The relatively narrow bandwidth of satellite and GSM phones meant lower voice quality, whereas communication over Wi-Fi and Ethernet was clear. Data transmission was similarly affected, meaning satellite data communication could be as slow as 2.4Kbps. Although that seems slow in the age of broadband, it’s actually pretty good in the world of secure satellite communications.

After several sessions testing the SwiftLink 1400, it was clear that this unit was a significant improvement over previous secure communications terminals. It’s more flexible, not much more difficult to use, and it performs well. What’s more important is that your communications are secure no matter where you are.

Capable of working with nearly any media and access method, nearly anywhere in the world, the SwiftLink 1400 is a good choice for those who need high security.