SubscribeThe management of encryption keys is the most basic function and is of great importance for keeping secure systems inaccessible to unauthorized parties.
The Sectra Tiger platform and the NSK 200 system support two methods of key distribution.
One is a flexible method where the keys are generated and distributed on smart cards. For instance, for a small group (around ten subscribers) of NSK 200 users, the Windows NT 4-based NSK 210 Key Generation Center is used to generate encryption keys on smart cards.
The other method, using Sectra's Security Management Center (SMC), is more centralized and advanced. For instance, larger groups of NSK 200 users who are geographically widely separated can use the NSK 250 SMC. The SMC provides secure key management and on-line key distribution for the NSK 200 secure telephones (connected to the terrestrial network using one or more ISDN lines). The dual, redundant SMC generates and distributes encryption keys, provides for remote key deletion in lost handsets, provides clock synchronization on all NSK 200s, and configures group access.
The SMC can handle up to 10,000 telephones in its database and can support up to 1,000 key requests per hour. Since the NSK 200 system and the Tiger platform are scaleable, defense and government organizations can expand the system to any number of users by linking several SMC units.
