Intelligence

Thales introduces first CAPS approved, AES-ready encryptor

10 May 2002

Thales, a leading network security provider for UK government applications, has introduced a new version of its Datacryptor 2000 to meet the demands of the UK government for very high levels of security. Supporting the Rijndael Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm, this latest addition to the Datacryptor family is approved under the CESG Approved Products Scheme (CAPS) programme to secure information protectively marked 'restricted', 'confidential' and in certain circumstances 'secret'. The tamper resistant Datacryptor 2000 is the first commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) encryption hardware module to gain CAPS approval to the 'secret' protection level when used with a suitable approved algorithm.

Protocol agile and easy to integrate into networks, this special version of the Datacryptor 2000 for the UK government is highly adaptable acting as a BOOTP (Boot Protocol) relay agent. The BOOTP compatibility of the CAPS approved Datacryptor 2000 can reduce administrative effort providing a cost-effective and scalable solution for large networks needing very high levels of security.

Future proof and providing the strongest encryption technology available, Datacryptor 2000 units accept customised/national algorithms without costly hardware upgrades, using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology to achieve hardware speed with the advantage of software-like flexibility.

Fully compatible with the Datacryptor suite of management applications enabling centralised network and security operation, the Datacryptor 2000 units are also certified to FIPS 140-1 level 3 and supports both IPSec and proprietary accelerated IP encryption. Certification to Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) 4 is also underway.