Fortress Technologies Teams with Telos Corporation on Defense Manpower Data Center Identity Protection Program

Release date: 7/14/2008
Company Enables Secure Wireless Communications at U.S. Military Checkpoints Worldwide
LANSDOWNE, Va. – July 29, 2008 – Fortress Technologies, a leading provider of secure wireless solutions, today announced it has been selected as part of the Telos Corporation team to support the implementation of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) identity protection and management programs. The contract, awarded to Telos, runs for one year with four, one-year options and has a potential value of $582 million, if all options are exercised.

As part of the contract, Fortress will provide its Fortress Secure Wireless Bridges, which will enable a secure wireless link between handheld devices and a DMDC database. The handheld devices will be used at U.S. military checkpoints worldwide to scan Common Access Cards (CACs) – the standard identification card for active duty military personnel, selected reserve, DoD civilian employees, and eligible contractor personnel and other ID cards – providing real-time authorization.

“DMDC maintains an archive of personnel, manpower, training, security, and financial data for more than 28 million individuals currently and previously connected to the DoD,” said Dana Kuntz, Vice President, Federal Sales, Fortress. “Enabling guards at military installation entrances to have real-time identity management access via CAC information, directly to the DMDC database, is critical to ensuring the security of these bases. We are proud to have been selected by Telos to assist with this capability.”

Fortress Secure Wireless Bridges will be installed at select checkpoints and will transmit the scanned CAC information to the DMDC database for access. As an “all-in-one” network access device, Fortress Secure Wireless Bridges combine the features of a wireless access point, bridge, Ethernet switch, and high assurance Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 validated security in a small, rugged, weatherized form factor – enabling secure voice, video, and data communications in deployable environments.

“Supporting DMDC for more than 12 years, Telos’ past performance is a clear reason for our longevity,” said Mark Griffin, president of Telos affiliate, Telos Identity Management Solutions (TIMS), LLC, who will perform the project integration. “Telos has worked successfully with Fortress on a number of other DoD-related programs and we are confident that this project will mirror our partnership’s successful track record. We look forward to initiating work.”

About General Dynamics C4 Systems Fortress Technologies
Fortress Technologies, part of General Dynamics C4 Systems, delivers a high performance portfolio of COTS wireless and secure communications capabilities, based on industry-proven technology. Fortress products and technologies are enhanced with the highest levels of industry-standard encryption that conform to commercial and government security standards and meet stringent environmental standards to support tactical wireless communications in austere environments for global defense, critical infrastructure and enterprise users.
Leveraging a self-forming, self-healing, path-optimizing mesh architecture, the Fortress advanced wireless network solution is optimized for rugged-outdoor, mobile, military, first responder and critical infrastructure environments, where reliable communications are a must.
Fortress secure wireless networking products and embedded solutions are designed for ease of use, simple integration and technical insertion, enabling partners and customers to meet their most challenging wireless communications needs. For more information, visit www.gdfortress.com