Logical Network Boundary Controller (LNBC)

The Department of Homeland Security and other government law enforcement agencies have identified the need for a technological capability for getting mission critical and time-sensitive information to people who need it in a secure and timely fashion. The traditional approach to implementing secure boundary controls across networks relies on strict physical separation of networks. The approach of using trusted operating system platforms and automated guards has proven to be unworkable for multimedia applications and cost prohibitive for most civilian environments. During Phase I of this STTR, Architecture Technology Corporation (ATC) and the University of Minnesota defined an innovative technology called Logical Network Boundary Controller (LNBC) that will cost-effectively distribute information to multiple security domain users across multiple physical networks without compromising the security of the data. The technology will facilitate secure cross-domain collaborations for both synchronous (e.g. audio/video conference, chat) and asynchronous (e.g. document sharing, email) applications. Based on the confirmed feasibility, during the proposed Phase II effort, the team will implement a full prototype of LNBC to provide a low-cost solution for cross-domain information sharing in a variety of digital media for Homeland Security as well as other civilian operations.