The development of communications for military and civil purposes continues, which leads to the emergence of new opportunities and channels of communication. At the same time, all such novelties impose special requirements on the systems for protecting communication channels from unauthorized connection and interception. Not so long ago, the Russian armed forces received a new complex of a similar purpose - "Zaslon-REB".
The Zaslon-REB system is designated by the developer as a complex of intelligent control and monitoring. The purpose of this complex is to monitor the situation on the air, fix various signals and prevent unauthorized exchange of data through different channels in this situation. Taking into account the progress of recent years, the new control and monitoring complex works with radio channels and can be classified as electronic warfare.
Not so long ago, it was announced that the Zaslon-REB system was adopted for service. This was reported on April 19 by Izvestia, which received relevant information from an unnamed source in the military department. According to Izvestia, all the necessary tests of the promising complex were carried out last year. After that, he was recommended for adoption, serial production and deployment at sites. It is reported that to date, several complexes of a new type have been manufactured and transferred to the armed forces. The task of this equipment is now to protect several parts of the aerospace forces.
The main task of the "Zaslon-REB" complex is to create areas of "information security" around important military facilities, such as military units, training grounds, headquarters, etc. At the expense of the available funds, the complex should study the situation on the air, and, depending on the operating mode, suppress unauthorized communication channels, create new ones, etc. The system is produced in a stationary version and is intended for installation on objects of a relatively large area.
According to available data, the promising complex includes several main devices. It is proposed to use a number of antennas with the required characteristics, as well as 11 separate jammers and four virtual base stations. A remote control is also used, with the help of which all other devices are simultaneously controlled and the method of protecting the covered object is selected. All equipment of the complex meets the existing safety requirements and can be deployed without the use of any additional measures aimed at protecting personnel or the environment.
The main method of information protection of a unit or headquarters is the suppression of all unauthorized communication channels. For this, generators of active interference are used, simply drowning out certain frequency ranges. The complex is capable of suppressing all known ranges used by the main civil communications standards. As a result, all persons in the "Zaslon-REB" coverage area lose the ability to use client equipment operating on GSM, CDMA, Wi-Fi, etc. technologies.
Nevertheless, the project provides for the possibility of maintaining communication using the existing client equipment. For this, separate base stations are used, capable of operating in different modes and standards. Depending on current needs, the operator of the Zaslon-REB complex can turn on a base station of GSM, DCS, LTE, CDMA or UTS standards. It also provides for the creation of Wi-Fi access points. Thus, simultaneously with the suppression of existing networks, the deployment of its own communication system is carried out, fully compatible with the existing equipment.
The operator can determine the subscriber devices located in the coverage area of the complex, and give them access to base stations or block them. Due to this, only specific devices that have passed the required checks can work in communication systems organized using a complex of intelligent control and monitoring. As a result, only trusted persons gain access to communications, while outsiders cannot use them. Moreover, being in the coverage area of the Zaslon-REB system, an unauthorized person loses the ability to use even general civil communication systems.
The Zaslon-REB system is a logical response to the demands of the times. Civil communications have long and confidently mastered wireless channels, received a large number of new technologies with different capabilities and uses them for different purposes. In addition, there has been a lot of progress in the field of wireless systems for military use, designed to solve a variety of tasks. In fact, the new complex is based on ideas already known and tested in practice, which have undergone serious revision taking into account the current requirements and the current state of affairs in the field of communications.
Currently, army facilities, both units or headquarters and training grounds, are complex structures with advanced communication and control systems. Some of the communication channels are still organized using wires, while other elements of the common complex use radio communication. In addition, civilian voice and data systems are used. Finally, the personnel have a significant number of their own subscriber equipment - primarily mobile phones.
Monitoring wired communication channels is a fairly simple task. Methods of protecting wireless communication over radio channels using standard army radio stations are known and tested in practice. Civilian equipment, in turn, is not yet covered by modern means of information security protection. With certain reservations, one can even say that one of the main goals of the "Zaslon-REB" system was to protect objects from the unauthorized use of civilian electronics.
Using civilian networks of GSM, LTE or Wi-Fi standards, surveillance means can be created with the help of which enemy intelligence will monitor an important object and constantly receive new data. Jammers from the "Zaslon-Electronic Warfare" will be able to jam their signal and interfere with the transmission of intelligence data. In addition, suspicious transmitters present on the air may be detected by the standard means of the complex. By drowning out the main frequency ranges with interference, the intelligent control complex can also interfere with the operation of radio-technical reconnaissance means. The presence of interference, at least, will make it difficult to intercept working communication channels.
Also, apparently, the possibility of hacking existing communication systems from the outside is completely excluded. To solve such a problem, the adversary needs a connection to the existing networks, but the possibility of its implementation is actually excluded due to the presence of complete control over subscriber devices. It remains possible to connect to the channels by hacking one of the approved devices, but this in the most serious way complicates the conduct of reconnaissance.
Thus, the armed forces now have at their disposal modern systems that can protect part of the communications equipment from unauthorized access from the outside, and, if necessary, create their own networks that do not require separate subscriber equipment. Several units have already received similar equipment, and the supply of new equipment will have to continue for a long time. This will protect the information and control systems of a large number of different military facilities.
In general, the latest reports on the adoption of the Zaslon-REB complex are cause for optimism. However, there is some reason to hold back enthusiasm and do without undue optimism. A similar opinion was published on April 21 by Nezavisimaya Gazeta in the article “The Modest Potential of the Zaslon-REB Complex”. As the name implies, the author of this material is not inclined to overestimate the novelty of the Russian armed forces.
Recalling the latest reports on the latest domestic control and monitoring system, the author of Nezavisimaya Gazeta points out that modern electronic devices have already entered everyday life. They are used by almost all age and social groups, including the country's top leadership and the personnel of the armed forces. In such conditions, the emergence of the need for protective equipment was a natural phenomenon.
The author also reminds that funds of this class are not new and have been used abroad for a long time. As a result, the domestic complex "Zaslon-REB" cannot be considered unique. However, it is not the uniqueness of the system that is important, but its real benefits. It is noted that the suppression of the main bands used by civilian communications is not a difficult task. The creation of narrow-band channels while simultaneously jamming other frequencies is also nothing revolutionary. At the same time, the modern situation attaches paramount importance to the solution of such problems.
Based on this, the author of Nezavisimaya Gazeta makes an interesting conclusion. In his opinion, the Zaslon-REB complex from the point of view of the general ideology is an old system for protecting information and communication channels, which has acquired new qualities and is distinguished by wider capabilities. Thus, at the moment the system looks quite modest, but at the same time, the possibility of the appearance of more advanced complexes in the future is not excluded. At the moment, however, the available protections simply do not allow the use of open channels in clear-text conversations. In other words - the author gives an example - a conscript sergeant will not be able to call home on his mobile phone and talk about his service.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta also recalls that by now the so-called information support groups. Probably, similar structures exist in the navy, although the official resources of the Ministry of Defense do not answer this question. The task of the teams is to deploy communication systems during various events. In addition, they must ensure the protection of such a single information field. Having received systems of a new type - sums up the author of the article "The modest potential of the Zaslon-REB complex" - the groups acquire "a toy with very limited capabilities."
It is important to note that the publication of Nezavisimaya Gazeta does not criticize the latest complex of intellectual control and monitoring. On the contrary, in this material an attempt is made to form an objective picture. Indeed, from a certain point of view, the latest domestic development is the ideological successor of the older systems, albeit performed at a different technical level with a corresponding expansion of the range of tasks to be solved.
In this light, the recently adopted complex in itself does not look like something unique and outstanding. However, other factors need to be considered in this context. Despite the absence of fundamentally new ideas and solutions, the Zaslon-REB system is the first representative of its class in the army, which meets the specific requirements of the present time. In other words, the troops have finally begun to receive the most important equipment that can have the most serious impact on the level of protection of communications and information. From this point of view, the current deliveries of the latest equipment really look like the most important step in the development of communications and command and control systems. And if we take into account the priority of the development of this sphere, then they really are.
