BAL News - What's New

BLUEARMOR® 100 Secure Bluetooth Headset Approved by the Department of Defense for Android

16 Feb 2012

BLUEArmor 100_Secure_Bluetooth_Headset Timonium, MD – February 15, 2012 – Biometric Associates, LP, (BAL) the leader in secure wireless communications, announced today that the BLUEARMOR® 100 Secure Bluetooth Headset has been approved for use with Android smartphones and tablets by the US Department of Defense. The BLUEARMOR 100 is the first and only Bluetooth headset reader to pass all NSA and DISA required Bluetooth security tests for Android devices. DISA approval of the headset is documented in the DISA mobility Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/net_perimeter/wireless/smartphone.html published recently. This headset had been previously approved for Department of Defense use with BlackBerry devices.

The other required components in the Android STIG include: 1) baiMobile® Security Monitor from BAL (security files installed on the Android device to enforce Bluetooth security policies), 2) Fixmo Sentinel from Fixmo, Inc. (a security and device integrity solution that provides tamper and compromise detection), and 3) a security apk provided by Dell, Inc. that enforces application white list policies.

“Today’s CAC user needs secure access to mobile applications”, noted Scott Johnson, BAL Executive Vice President and COO, “but sensitive information – both data and voice – must be protected from multiple points of attack. Imagine a doctor in a DoD hospital making his or her rounds with an Android tablet. This doctor needs CAC authenticated access to the hospital medical records database but also needs to be able to dictate notes into the patient’s record over an encrypted Bluetooth link. We are proud to provide products to make this a reality.”

Johnson continued saying, “our BLUEARMOR secure Bluetooth firmware is actually independent of the particular headset model or style and may be loaded onto headsets from other manufacturers. We are exploring porting the secure firmware technology to police and military radios, for...

baiMobile® 3000MP Bluetooth Smart Card Reader Approved by the Department of Defense for Android

04 Jan 2012

Timonium, MD – January 4, 2012

Biometric Associates, LP, (BAL) announced that the baiMobile® 3000MP Bluetooth Smart Card Reader has been approved for use with Android smartphones and tablets by the US Department of Defense. The baiMobile® 3000MP is the first and only Bluetooth CAC/PIV reader to pass all NSA and DISA required Bluetooth security tests for Android devices. DISA approval of the reader is documented in the DISA mobility Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/net_perimeter/wireless/smartphone.html recently published.

In addition to the 3000MP Reader, the baiMobile® solution also includes 1) middleware libraries, device drivers and APIs that are provided to developers enabling them to build smart card-enabled applications and 2) security files installed on the Android device to enforce Bluetooth security policies.

The baiMobile® solution permits network or client applications residing on the Android device to access the credentials stored on the smart card to perform functions such as digitally signing and decrypting emails, and authenticating to secure web sites and network servers.

Scott Johnson, BAL Executive Vice President and COO, noted, “The timing of this DISA STIG coincides perfectly with the planned launch for the Army’s mobile application store, the Army Marketplace. Most of these apps will require CAC authentication and our baiMobile® solution provides this capability.”

Security is a primary concern, according to Michael McCarthy, operations director of the Army Brigade Modernization Command's Mission Command Complex, "We have to be able to harden the OS and the device itself so that we can operate all the way to classified networks and use the phone to operate mission command systems."

BAL has partnered with Good Technology, a leader in secure multiplatform enterprise mobility, Dell Computer and Fixmo, Inc, who each provided the technology required to “harden” commercial, off-the-shelf Android OS to run on smartphones like the Dell Streak 5....

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Biometric Associates Delivers First Secure Bluetooth Headset Approved for the Department of Defense
03 May 2011
Timonium, Maryland -- May 3, 2011-- Biometric Associates, LP, (BAL) www.baiMobile®.com a leader in secure wireless communications devices, announced today, at BlackBerry World^™, the first and only Bluetooth mobile headset approved for use by the Department of Defense (DoD).

BAL utilizes advanced 128-bit encryption, a randomly generated PIN, and other specialized firmware techniques to secure its Bluetooth products. The blueARMOR 100 headset is the only commercially available Bluetooth headset to pass all of the tests required by National Security Agency (NSA) and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and is therefore, the only Bluetooth headset approved for use within the DoD. This headset received DoD approval in the DISA mobility Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) published last week http://iase.disa.mil/stigs/net_perimeter/wireless/smartphone.html

DISA’s approval requires that the blueARMOR headset be paired with a BlackBerry® device running Bluetooth version 2.1 or higher managed by BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5. To market the headset in DoD, BAL has partnered with SteelCloud, Inc. (OTCQB: SCLD.PK) a leading developer of secure mobility appliance and VMware^® solutions. SteelCloud’s SteelWorks FedMobile appliance and VMware solutions for BlackBerry, together with Fixmo’s Sentinel™ product, will incorporate the policies necessary to effectively secure this new Bluetooth capability.

“As those in our business are well aware, Bluetooth if not properly secured, creates significant vulnerabilities for hackers to penetrate a customer’s network,” said Brian Hajost, SteelCloud President, and CEO. “Biometric Associates, LP provides products distinguished by superior security protection, as now proven though NSA’s testing and recognized by DISA and the Department of Defense. Since the blueARMOR 100 is the only approved Bluetooth headset for use within the DoD, we are optimistic about significant demand for BAL’s secure headset as our military leverages this new Bluetooth capability. We are excited by the synergies that we...
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Army Knowledge Online to Provide Secure Mobile Device Messaging with Biometric Associates’ Common Access Card Readers
03 Aug 2010

Provides Broad Support for Microsoft® Windows Mobile devices; Support for iPhone and Android coming in Q4 2010

REDWOOD CITY, CA - AUGUST 3, 2010 - In partnership with Northrop Grumman, Good Technology™ today announced that the Army Knowledge Online (AKO) portal has agreed to license 80,000 seats of Good™ Mobile Messaging Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (Good S/MIME). The contract will provide reliable mobile email to the two million registered users of the Army Knowledge Online (AKO) portal. The backend integration is complete today to support a broad range Microsoft® Windows Mobile devices and support for iPhone and Android devices will be provided in Q4 2010.

Designed specifically to meet the security requirements of the U.S. Department of Defense, the Good S/MIME solution will provide AKO users with secure messaging for mobile devices with user-friendly Biometric Associates, LP (BAL) common access card (CAC) readers for CAC authentication, encryption and signing of email and attachments and automatic over-the-air (OTA) synchronization of all certificates. Users will experience improved productivity with the ability to compose, send, receive and read encrypted and/or signed email messages from a mobile device.

"It is increasingly important to the Army to be able to access information securely and reliably while on the go," said Colonel Noble, Project Manager for Army Knowledge Online/Defense Knowledge Online. "We selected the Good solution because it enables us to provide a secure offering while giving us the flexibility to offer that solution across a broad range of mobile devices."

The Good S/MIME solution has been certified as a mobile messaging platform for the Army's use. It has received the Army's Authority to Operate (ATO) verification and a rigorous third-party testing process through the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) which satisfies the security requirements of the U.S. Government and the U.S. Department of Defense. As a result,...
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