NMCI Gets Into A Hotspot

							 NMCI Gets Into A Hotspot
  By Mike Hernon



   For years now, Navy Marine Corps In-        widely known vulnerabilities that may be      ent Encryption, which is available only
tranet (NMCI) users have jealously eyed        exploited. For example, is that wireless      through NMCI. This allows you to securely
the laptop-wielding, Wi-Fi-connected           network named “FREE STARBUX Wi-Fi”            connect to NMCI via an encrypted virtual
masses in coffee shops, hotels and air-        that shows up as available for connection     private network. Additional security in-
ports as they turned idle time into pro-       really coming from the coffee shop you’re     cludes the encryption of data-at-rest and
ductive time. Barred from full network         in or from the van in the parking lot?        the Host Based Security System for intru-
access, NMCI users on the go had to settle        Setting up such imposter or “rogue” ac-    sion prevention.
for cellular phones, air cards and Outlook     cess points that can divert your laptop to       This newly announced Wi-Fi hotspot
Web Access to provide mobile support.          a hacker-controlled destination and/or in-    offering is distinct from, and in addition
While these capabilities provide some          stall malware is just one potential avenue    to the existing solution for wireless local
fairly productive mobility tools, access to    for hackers. Another common attack is to      area networks (WLAN) for access on those
the information and resources on NMCI          take advantage of the lack of encryption      Navy or Marine Corps bases and instal-
that would further support the mobile          on a public access point to intercept and     lations (i.e., base area networks), where
worker remained unavailable — until            read the traffic transmitted between the      WLANs are currently in place. Depending
now.                                           laptop and the network.                       on your needs, you may install either or
   With the release of Wireless Public Hot-       Of course, these threats are above and     both solutions on your laptop.
spots (WPH) service, NMCI users within         beyond the fact that you are conducting
the continental United States can now          official business in the middle of a bus-     Cutting the Cord
use free or for-fee public Wi-Fi hotspots      tling coffee shop or airport terminal, and       All components required to enable
to securely access NMCI. This capabil-         wearing a uniform or sporting a Defense       wireless access to either public or base
ity provides mobile users with the same        Department badge that just might make         access points are available through the
computing environment they would have          you a more attractive target for hackers.     Contract Line Item Numbers (CLIN) on the
when sitting at their wired computer. This                                                   NMCI contract. There are one-time costs
enhanced capability will allow remote          Locking It Down to Open It Up                 to procure the hardware and software, as
users to remain better connected and              The threat to the network from these       well as a monthly recurring fee, each or-
more productive outside of their wired         vulnerabilities is real; the impact from a    dered through a separate CLIN. Addition-
environment, whether on travel, tele-          breach could not only affect the user that    ally, the following constraints apply:
commuting from home, or in any location        is being targeted, but the entire network.    • Windows XP operating system installed;
outside the office where Wi-Fi is available.   Clearly, before approval could be given by    • Broadband Unclassified Remote Access
                                               the Navy and Marine Corps Designated             Service (BuRAS v4.0.5) installed;
Private Network, Public Wi-Fi                  Accrediting Authorities (DAA), network        • Navy NMCI domain only (as of this writ-
   Integrating any secure, private network,    engineers had to develop a solution              ing, the Marine Corps DAA has not ap-
such as the NMCI, with public Wi-Fi access     that would minimize the risks of Wi-Fi           proved the solution);
points outside the control of network ad-      access.                                       • Unclassified use only; and
ministrators is not done lightly. Before de-      As a result of these efforts, connecting   • Not available for non-NMCI networks,
livering any enterprise mobility capability    to NMCI via a public hotspot is done in a        such as the science and technology
to the Department of the Navy workforce,       significantly different way than how you         domains.
a careful analysis of the delicate balance     would normally use your laptop’s internal
between the benefits and inherent risks        Wi-Fi antenna to connect to a hotspot at        For the latest offerings and pricing
of wireless technologies is conducted.         home or in a public location.                 information, visit the NMCI Homeport
   Opening up network access through              The NMCI solution relies on two com-       wireless page at https://www.homeport.
publicly available Wi-Fi hotspots pres-        ponents that reside on the laptop; one        navy.mil/services/wireless. Additional re-
ents significant information assurance         is hardware, and the other is software-       sources on the site include a user guide
(IA) concerns about introducing threats        based. The hardware consists of an ap-        and an online tutorial.
that might potentially harm the network.       proved wireless network interface card
The use of public Wi-Fi access points,         which installs in the laptop’s PCMCIA slot.   Mike Hernon is an independent consultant to the
which are normally unsecured and un-           (Laptops with an ExpressCard slot will        DON CIO on a variety of telecommunications-
encrypted by design to foster maximum          require an adapter.) The necessary client     related topics. He was formerly the chief infor-
sharing of the signal, brings a number of      software component is the Wireless Cli-       mation officer for the City of Boston.

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