- Fortezza
:"Fortezza is also the Italian name for
Franzensfeste , a town in Italy"Fortezza is an
information security system based on aPC Card security token. Each individual who is authorized to see protected information is issued a "Fortezza card" that stores private keys and other data needed to gain access. It contains anNSA -approved security microprocessor called "Capstone" (MYK-80 ) that implements the Skipjackencryption algorithm.The Fortezza card is becoming wider in use in Government and Military applications due to the fact that the cards are interchangeable within the many types of equipment that support Fortezza. Likewise, this means that the parties that program the Fortezza cards are able to program the cards and ship them out so organizations may use them in whatever equipment they need to use it for. This simplifies the process of rekeying equipment for Crypto changes: instead of requiring an expensive
Fill device , a technician is able to put a new Fortezza card in the device's PCMCIA slot.Fortezza was developed for the U.S. Government's ill-fated
Clipper chip project, but is widely used by the U.S. Government. The original Fortezza card (KOV-8) is a Type 2 product which means it cannot be used forclassified information . The most widely usedType 1 encryption card is the KOV-12 Fortezza card which is used extensively for theDefense Message System (DMS). The KOV-12 is cleared up to TOP SECRET/SCI. A later version, calledKOV-14 orFortezza Plus , uses aKrypton microprocessor that implements stronger,Type 1 encryption and may be used for information classified up to TOP SECRET/SCI. It, in turn, is being replace by the newerKSV-21 PC card with more modern algorithms and additional capabilities.The Fortezza Plus card and its successors are used with NSA's
Secure Terminal Equipment voice encryption systems that are replacing theSTU-III . It is manufactured by theMykotronx Corporation and bySpyrus . Each card costs about $240 and they are commonly used with card readers sold byLitronic Corporation.Links
[http://www.safenet-inc.com SafeNet web site (Mykotronx is a division of SafeNet)]
[http://www.spyrus.com Spyrus web site]
[http://www.litronic.com Litronic web site]
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