Applications for Secure Communications
The TILBA® product line: Enhancing communication security with stealthy, non-interceptable and jam-proof laser transmissions
Ensuring the security of information exchange is a top priority across all sectors, especially for strategic communications. One of the main challenges is continuously developing advanced methods to safeguard information against new forms of interception, modification and tampering. Within this context, laser communication is emerging as an innovative solution to address current transmission security needs. It offers robust security, exceptionally high throughput rates, and reliable connectivity for a broad range of applications.
Historically, secure communication has held strategic importance in the military and government sectors. However, in today’s era of increasing interconnectivity, this concern is extended to corporate communications and even interactions between individuals. Secure communication requires a variety of advanced techniques and protocols designed to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability and authenticity of the information exchanged. One method of securing communication involves safeguarding access to information, using encryption techniques, for example. Another approach is to secure the transmission process itself by concealing the existence of the information exchange, masking the identities of the parties involved, or disguising the nature of the communication. This involves the deployment of robust encryption mechanisms, secure network architectures, and authentication protocols to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, interception, alteration or manipulation during transmission.
By adopting secure communication solutions, businesses can safeguard the confidentiality of their sensitive assets, including intellectual property, trade secrets, customer data and financial information. This significantly mitigates the risks associated with data breaches, cyber attacks and unauthorized disclosures. Similarly, governments and military organizations rely on these solutions to protect classified information, diplomatic communications, and military strategies, all of which are essential for national security and sovereignty.
Optical fiber is the most widely used means of communication, offering unparalleled robustness and data throughput. However, optical fiber is not suitable for applications requiring wireless communication. Radio-frequency (RF) satellite communication is a well-established wireless alternative, despite persistent challenges such as the continuous evolution of methods for intercepting and decrypting encrypted data, as well as the use of jamming techniques to disrupt connections, which affect link availability. Another challenge for RF communication is spectrum congestion, requiring the allocation of frequency bands, which can be a lengthy, costly and complex process. Even with spectrum licensing regulations designed to prevent interference between different radio signals on the same RF frequency, interference can still occur, potentially impacting strategic operations.
In this context, laser communication stands out as a reliable transmission solution that meets the demand for very high throughput rates, accessibility and secure exchanges, surpassing the limitations of traditional secure wireless communications.
Laser communication is a wireless data transmission method that relies on the propagation of light in free space. It facilitates transmissions between satellites in orbit and optical ground stations. In addition, atmospheric optical communication enables the establishment of point-to-point links between optical terminals, whether on land, aboard aircraft or on ships.
Faster, more secure, more compact, and easier to deploy than conventional technologies, optical communication eliminates the requirement for allocated frequency bands, thereby enabling secure data transmission. Laser communications inherently possess a low probability of detection/intercept (LPD/LPI) and cannot be jammed. They are also compatible with ultra-high-capacity ground-based telecom technologies (up to several Tbit/s), making it possible to benefit from the telecom industry’s technological maturity.
Overview of laser communication applications for secure communications:
- Asynchronous communication: In certain situations, government agencies, such as embassies, which require secure and efficient communication, resort to asynchronous communication via satellite. Unlike real-time (synchronous) communication, these exchanges are not bound to a continuous communication flow. Data can be sent and received separately without requiring an immediate response. Optical technology is the ideal solution for establishing secure, very high-throughput satellite communications.
- Restricted networks: Businesses use restricted networks to secure their strategic corporate information and personal data of their clients and partners. Isolating internal communication channels from public networks mitigates the risk of cyber-attacks, interception or compromise by unauthorized third parties. This approach is also adopted by governments and defense agencies. Point-to-point optical communication is a suitable solution for private networks, offering both ease of installation and enhanced security.
- Redundancy and resilience: Businesses, institutional players and the defense sector place a high importance on the resilience and availability of communications networks, using redundancy to mitigate potential disaster scenarios. Disruptions to fiber-optic terrestrial networks or satellite communications from service providers can result in critical interruptions to connectivity. RF is typically the backup solution, however the throughput is significantly lower than optical fiber. Optical technology offers a very high-throughput redundancy solution, maintaining the same capacity as fiber optics while providing additional resilience compared to RF, as it is not susceptible to jamming or interception.
- Temporary sites and theaters of operations: The stealthy and jam-proof nature of optical technology makes it a valuable asset in military applications, particularly for the deployment of temporary networks. In theaters of operations, high throughput is essential for the exchange of logistical and command information. Transfer time has become a critical parameter, and current wireless connectivity via radio frequency (RF) does not provide a sufficient transmission rate. Deploying an optical ground station (OGS) significantly accelerates information exchange, offering throughput rates similar to optical fiber while preserving the accessibility of a wireless connection. Furthermore, the use of two transportable OGS ensures uninterrupted connectivity throughout the operation. Ground-to-ground optical terminals can be used to establish point-to-point optical links between two remote units, delivering very high throughput rates, and immunity to jamming and interception.
- Communication bubbles: Communication bubbles, used in naval, airborne and land-based settings, are dedicated hubs for government, military and diplomatic operations. Naval communication bubbles provide secure, reliable communication channels between ships, submarines and even aircraft, especially during the deployment of a carrier battle group. They facilitate the exchange of the vast amounts of information circulating between the units. In addition, the aggregation of the data generated results in a significant volume of information that must be transmitted in real time to remote command centers to keep pace with operational demands. Unlike current methods such as RF, which lack the necessary throughput to ensure the required fluidity, optical technology offers the potential to deliver secure, high-throughput communications.
- Quantum communication: Due to its stealthy nature, optical communication provides an ideal channel for distributing encryption keys such as optical cryptography or quantum cryptography, also referred to as Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). Quantum keys are distributed using the laser beam as a carrier. Optical ground stations play a pivotal role in routing these keys between satellites and the ground, while optical terminals enable point-to-point transmission.
Although optical communication has been used for ground-to-ground transmission and optical inter-satellite links (OISL) since the 1980s because of its increased security and higher throughput rates, players in the space telecommunications sector have until recently favored radio transmission technology for space-to-ground links due to historical constraints associated with optics. On Earth, laser communication is limited by atmospheric turbulence. These disturbances, caused by the heterogeneity and constant movement of the air, impact the phase and intensity of the light beam, degrading the quality of the link as it passes through the earth’s atmosphere. However, a number of solutions exist to mitigate the effects of atmospheric turbulence.
Leveraging its Multi-Plane Light Conversion (MPLC) technology, Cailabs has developed unique turbulence management technologies for both reception and transmission, which can compensate for atmospheric turbulence and maintain the integrity of transmissions. The TILBA®-ATMO technology module, designed for turbulence compensation at reception (Rx), and the TILBA®-IBC module, for turbulence management during transmission (Tx), are integrated into our optical terminals.
TILBA®-OGS optical ground stations enable the establishment of secure, very high-throughput space communications, offering the following key features:
- Bidirectional optical transmissions exceeding 10 Gbps.
- Robust links capable of withstanding atmospheric turbulence, with extended range facilitated by the TILBA-ATMO and TILBA-IBC technology modules integrated into our stations.
- Multi-mission compatibility and remote operability.
- Compliance with CCSDS and SDA standards.
- Scalability to meet future demands for optical feeder links with Tbps capacity, achieved through the coherent combination of TILBA®-CBC.
TILBA®-LOS optical terminals enable the establishment of secure, very high-throughput point-to-point atmospheric communications, offering the following key features:
- Bidirectional optical transmissions exceeding 10 Gbps over distances greater than 10 km.
Robust links capable of withstanding atmospheric turbulence, with extended range facilitated by the TILBA-IBC incoherent combining technology, integrated into our optical terminals.
