CARLSBAD, Calif., May 23, 2023 -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced its next-generation ground-to-space encryption product, the KG-255XJ, is now National Security Agency (NSA) Type-1 certified. The KG-255XJ End Cryptographic Unit (ECU) is now certified for protecting classified Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) and below, including Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) and mission data communications between Satellite Operations Centers (SOCs) and satellites on orbit. Type-1 is the highest security certification level awarded by the NSA, and the KG-255XJ is the only cryptographic solution in production today with the capability to access every TT&C link on all current orbiting U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) satellites.
The KG-255XJ builds upon Viasat’s KS-252 programmable/multi-functional space crypto with the addition of modern non-proprietary RESTCONF interfaces. This HTTPS-based protocol will provide for easy integration to enable complex satellite operations to now be conducted at the speed of machine learning and artificial intelligence driven algorithms. This allows users to closely control, monitor and aggregate data across large satellite constellations operating in multiple orbits. The KG-255XJ expands Viasat’s family of KG-255X products that have long provided flexible encryption solutions by offering encryption at Layer 2 or Layer 3 network levels, which will enable easy software upgrades to enhance security, and providing a solution for multiple use cases with a single device. Viasat’s Programmable Scalable Information Assurance Model (PSIAM) cryptographic technology in the KG-255XJ provides the foundational security capabilities to replace multiple legacy ECUs into a modern, multi-functional encryption device.
“The proliferation of satellites in space and the complex nature at which they operate—at multiple orbits, altitudes and frequencies—can increase an adversary’s ability to attack and take over a satellite communications system,” said Craig Miller, president, Viasat Government Systems. “Our KG-255XJ solution, built in coordination with deep customer insight, provides a single device that protects satellite command and telemetry links while reducing the complexity and costs associated with integrating multiple satellites and space systems. This encryption capability will deliver value for both government and commercial customers, and Viasat is committed to developing future capabilities to ensure the access control security of our nation’s vital strategic space assets.”
The KG-255XJ is configurable for multiple cryptographic functions and offers new security features to address emerging and expanding threats. Viasat continues to coordinate with military customers and satellite integrators to utilize this software reprogrammable capability to add additional functionality to meet the evolving needs of the space community and bring a holistic approach to securing the entire ground-to-space system versus protecting a single asset or data set.
Learn more about Viasat’s industry leading portfolio of ground-to-space crypto solutions here.
About Viasat
Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people’s lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea. To learn more about Viasat, visit: www.viasat.com, go to Viasat’s Corporate Blog, or follow the Company on social media at: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include statements about Viasat’s end-to-end space encryption solutions and the KG-255XJ device features and capabilities, including its ability to integrate complex satellite operations to be conducted at the speed of machine learning; control, monitor and aggregate data across large satellite constellations operating in multiple orbits; and reduce the complexity and costs associated with integrating multiple satellites and space systems. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: risks associated with satellite failures, including the effect of any anomaly, operational failure or degradation in performance; contractual problems, product defects, manufacturing issues or delays, regulatory issues, technologies not being developed according to anticipated schedules, or that do not perform according to expectations; and other factors affecting the government and defense sectors generally. In addition, please refer to the risk factors contained in Viasat’s SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including Viasat’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Viasat undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason.
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