NSA To Get GD Protected Smart Phones

General Dynamics C4 Systems recently received the Defense Mobile Classified Capability (DMCC) contract from the US National Security Agency (NSA).

As part of the contract, General Dynamics will deliver up to 1,000 Samsung KNOX™-enabled Galaxy S4 smartphones provisioned with added GD Protected® software for the U.S. government. With these new smartphones, authorized government personnel will be able to make secure phone calls and access classified email. The GD Protected Samsung KNOX smartphones represent an important step toward the government's Commercial Solutions for Classified initiative.

"Mobile government workers now have the freedom to read classified emails and talk securely anywhere, every time," said Chris Marzilli, president of General Dynamics C4 Systems. "The GD Protected, Samsung KNOX Galaxy S 4 smartphone integrates government-approved commercial components to provide a mobile security solution that the government can buy off the shelf from General Dynamics."

GD Protected smartphones are built on the KNOX mobile security solution by Samsung, a leading provider of commercially secure smartphones. General Dynamics loads the GD Protected software onto the Samsung KNOX devices and from that point on, the phone operates using only authorized software and applications from a trusted source. System updates and upgrades will be provided over the air by General Dynamics. The GD Protected Samsung KNOX Galaxy S 4 smartphones will also include government-approved mobile device management from Mobile Iron and secure voice from CellCrypt.

"By leveraging the Samsung KNOX platform, GD Protected will deliver end-to-end security solutions for approved government and military users," said Dr. Injong Rhee, Senior Vice President of KNOX Business, IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. "For government Enterprise IT managers, Samsung KNOX enables GD Protected to support the remote management of a smartphone or other mobile device using approved mobile device management tools."

The NSA's Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) program was established in 2010 to adopt the market's most advanced commercial information assurance technologies and solutions for use by government organizations. The CSfC program enables commercial products to be layered to protect classified information creating a secure communications solution that can be fielded in months rather than years.