"Johns Hopkins APL's Out-of-Band Communications Technology Receives Boost From Department of Homeland Security"
Out-of-Band over Existing Communication (OBEC) is a novel communications technology developed at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) to provide secure access to networks experiencing disruptions or cyberattacks. APL is one of seven federal laboratories to receive funding from the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the latest round of the Commercialization Accelerator Program (CAP). The OBEC technology enables the creation of a new, physically isolated Out-of-Band (OOB) network on an existing Ethernet infrastructure, without the need for additional networking equipment or wireless connections. OOB communications occur outside of the normal systems, allowing users to communicate privately and securely, even on a compromised network. Alexander Beall, an electrical engineer at APL and project manager in the Asymmetric Operations Sector's Cyber Operations Mission Area, emphasizes that Industrial Control System (ICS) network connectivity is essential to operating and managing facilities and their processes. Cyberattacks on the network can have wide-reaching and severe effects, potentially endangering operators' safety, disrupting critical operations, and causing costly downtime. Beall and OBEC co-inventor Joseph Moore say that OOB communication supports network resilience, situational awareness, and secure management of networked devices by establishing alternative communication paths to manage network infrastructure devices. These alternative paths separate non-essential traffic from operational traffic, preventing hackers from compromising network infrastructure or interfering with network operations. This article continues to discuss APL's OBEC technology and its boost from DHS.