Iraqi forces develop secure network

Multi-National Forces-Iraq ^ | Staff Sgt. Lucia Newman

[SandRat]

Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq

Two Iraqi contractors and U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jose Torres, MNSTC-I communications program manager, prepare to run cable lines through different offices in a building that will soon house the 1st Iraqi Army division. Habbaniyah is the 12th location for Iraqi Armed Forces to receive the Iraqi Defense Network. Department of Defense photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Lucia Newman.

HABANIYAH -- A key element in any strong organization is communication - even more so when that organization is the military that is defending and protecting the rights of its nation's citizens. With Coalition funding, 55 Iraqi Armed Forces units spanning 24 bases can now keep in constant communication with the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.

The Iraqi Defense Network is a command and control and data communications network exclusive to the Iraqi military. IDN allows the military to send secure data without going through a commercial internet provider, according to U.S. Air Force Capt. Karen Zoebisch, the IDN program manager for Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq.

"This capability will give them their own private network," Zoebisch said. "The network is the Iraqi equivalent to the Non-secure Internet Protocol Router Network, or NIPRNet, on the U.S. military side. For the Iraqi military, this will be their first command and control data communication network."

Before the IDN was introduced, Iraqi military forces used generic methods to convey secure and non-secure material.

An Iraqi soldier seals the trenches that contain the fiber optics of the IDN communication lines that were installed in Habbaniyah Aug 21. Department of Defense photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Lucia Newman.

"They were using unprotected, commercial services to communicate," Zoebisch said. "They were using something like DSL or cable modem service."

According to Iraqi Army Capt. Alaa, 1st Iraqi Army Division communications officer, the old methods limited communications effectiveness.

"We were using Yahoo web to get messages throughout our military," he said. "It was a lot slower and less secure."

Even classified material had been sent off using seemingly archaic technology.

"We would use coded messages that consisted of letters and numbers," Alaa said.

"By using IDN we protect that stream of communications," Zoebisch added. "We put them behind that stream of firewall which prevents people from coming in."

The new system will also include enterprise e-mail accounts and antivirus protection for IDN users, bringing users away from using Yahoo or Hotmail for official communication.

For now, IDN is only available to division and service headquarters, as well as select schools. However, Zoebisch said the plan is for IDN to eventually be available throughout the entire Iraqi Army.

[SandRat]

Doing things the right way! The Secure way.

[KoRn]

ping

[ShadowAce]

[antiRepublicrat]

An Iraqi soldier seals the trenches that contain the fiber optics of the IDN communication lines that were installed in Habbaniyah Aug 21.

Oh, thanks, now anybody who knows the general location knows exactly where the fiber is buried.