By Robert Foster
Contributor

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) functions as the Department of Defense’s research agency responsible for developing up-and-coming technology for use by the military.

One of DARPA’s latest endeavors is to create a way for remote military troops to securely pass sensitive data back and forth on their handheld devices. They are in the process of developing a project that includes special software and network technology that would allow the safe transfer of data on military networks as well as unsecured commercial networks.

This program has been unofficially labeled SHARE for Secure Handhelds on Assured Resilient networks at the tactical Edge. The vision of SHARE, according to a statement released by Joe Evans, program manager for DARPA, is to create a software that “moves the multi-level security management function from a handful of data centers down to trusted, handheld devices on the tactical edge.” Troops in the field could use their multiple devices to relay information of varying levels of classification securely.

Due to the volatile areas where U.S. military troops are deployed, a system must be developed that is fast and versatile. Large bulky equipment and additional security engineers are not a possibility in these type of deployment situations. A streamlined, fast and adaptable solution is necessary to provide security to allow data to reach its destination safely.