IT armor for U.S. tanks.

With sophisticated computer systems installed in tanks and other equipment, the U.S. military is emphasizing protection of its data networks as well as the troops. As one example, battlefield vehicles are now being supplied with firewalls for network security-the MESHnet firewall developed by General

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"The confidentiality of communications between armored vehicles is crucial to soldiers' safety and the success of their mission," says Rick Bracken of General Dynamics Canada.

Network-centric operations require data to be shared between brigades, coalitions and even civil authorities. Advanced application-layer firewalls successfully protect networks by monitoring data flow to ensure only authorized data is exchanged, and to detect and prevent intrusion attempts and viruses embedded in data flow. In tactical environments, the exchange of sensitive, classified data is essential, making the need firewalls even more pronounced.

The MESHnet Firewall platform runs Secure Computing's Sidewinder firewall, which provides the following features necessary for this type of deployment:

* the performance, scalability and network protection needed by units deployed on the tactical mobile battlefield;

* application-layer protection to protect against threats contained at the application level versus just the network level (70 percent of all attacks occur at the application layer today); and

* intrusion-prevention capability, as well as integration with the TrustedSource global reputation system, to provide proactive protection from known and unknown (zero-hour) threats.