GPS receiver cryptography key delivery leveraging NSA"s Key Management Infrastructure (KMI)

ABSTRACT: As GPS has become a critical component to operation of many systems, there are an ever increasing number of military GPS receivers, either embedded in aircraft, weapons, or unique standalone configurations, and each requiring a significant investment of their own to add a new capability enhancing security and availability. This effort will evaluate current GPS Key Management Architecture (GKMA) and GPS User Equipment requirements to propose solutions to support transition from the EKMS to KMI for key material. Identification and evaluation of use cases highlighting current and future GPS key material delivery requirements will be used to rate the applicability of the proposed solution space developed during this Phase I effort. The proposed research will result in development of new key delivery systems for future GPS devices to support KMI and a risk mitigation strategy involving interim solutions to reduce manual key delivery and impacts resulting from funding shortfalls. BENEFIT: This will greatly reduce the overall cost by developing and publishing clear testable requirements for a GPS device to support KMI key delivery. This will occur once versus once for each standalone or system integrated GPS device program being upgraded by the various services. The research will include evaluation of proposed interim solution space for further development that will target reduction of manual delivery mechanisms currently employed to deliver GPS key material. This will greatly reduce cost; improve system security, responsiveness to changing mission requirements and reduce risk to life resulting from human involvement in the key delivery process for GKMA.