Computer hardware manufacturer Trenton Systems is joining forces with security software company Star Lab, a Wind River company, to develop ruggedised, fully hardened, US-made military computers for defence systems, operating in hostile environments and running demanding mission-critical applications at the tactical edge.
Combining Trenton Systems’ high-performance rugged computers and Star Lab’s Titanium Security Suite and Crucible Embedded Hypervisor poises these mission-critical systems to be some of the most formidable and resilient defence computing platforms available on the market today.
Star Lab founder and general manager Irby Thompson said: “The combination of Star Lab’s validated and certified cybersecurity, anti-tamper, and data at rest software products with Trenton Systems’ ruggedised, high-performance computing platforms gives our aerospace and defence customers US-built, trusted, and cyber-secure mission-critical servers for the tactical edge.”
Michael Bowling, CEO of Trenton Systems, said he’s excited about the partnership with Star Lab and hopes to continue making cybersecurity an integral part of the system equation from the very beginning.
Bowling said: “Cybersecurity cannot be a bolt-on or an afterthought with mission-critical applications. Security, when done correctly, is baked into every aspect of the architecture. From the chip-level hardware and firmware design to the OS and hypervisor-level encryption and protection, the trusted combination of Trenton Systems’ and Star Lab’s US-based design, manufacturing and support teams is ready to tackle your most hostile operating environments.”
The companies’ robust edge computers, certified to MIL-STD-810, DO-160, MIL-S-901, and other leading military standards, will be fully capable of meeting a variety of advanced, real-time computing needs, operating seamlessly at the tactical edge and amid the world’s harshest environments, satisfying multiple advanced security requirements, enhancing system integrity and upgradability, and effortlessly powering the most compute-intensive applications deployed by the defence and aerospace industries.
Trenton Systems vice-president of sales, marketing, and business development Sean Campbell said: “As more devices are connected to these networks, a more systems-level approach to securing those devices is now required. There is a rising interest in applying best DevSecOps processes to the development of the internet of things (IoT) applications. This means thinking about application and infrastructure security from the start when buying hardware systems. Trenton Systems and our Star Lab collaboration provides that capability via Star Lab’s Titanium Security Suite. The biggest issue organisations are encountering now is an urgency to address cybersecurity as each device is connected to the network, rather than pursuing a more comprehensive approach to IoT and network security at scale. As awareness of these issues rises, IT decision-makers are getting more involved in IoT platform decisions and buying hardware from trusted providers like Trenton Systems and Star Lab.”
The systems are the tangible result of a months-long collaboration between Trenton Systems and Star Lab. Both companies bring unique design and technological expertise to the table.
Trenton Systems is known for not only designing, manufacturing, assembling, integrating, and supporting its industry-trusted rugged computers in the US but also for ruggedising and stress-testing its systems beyond standard requirements, incorporating numerous PCIe slots onto its motherboards and backplanes, customising BIOSes and adhering to SWaP-C requirements, providing strict revision control, boasting an 11-year computer life cycle, and offering a risk-free 45-day loaner program for all of its custom and commercial-off-the-shelf rugged servers, workstations, blade servers, mini PCs, storage systems, processor boards, chassis, and backplanes. In addition, the company performs MIL-STD-810, DO-160, and other compliance testing both in-house and locally in the state of Georgia.
Star Lab’s Titanium Security Suite, comprised of Titanium Linux, Titanium Secure Hypervisor (Crucible), and Titanium Secure Boot (TrueBoot), boasts the most robust Linux operating system-hardening and security capabilities available on the market for operationally deployed embedded systems. Designed using a threat model that assumes an attacker has already gained root or administrative access to a system, the Titanium Security Suite still maintains the integrity and confidentiality of critical applications, data, and configurations while assuring field and operational success. The products are highly performant and enable combat systems to survive and operate through cyberattacks by utilising advanced isolation, attack surface minimisation, and cyber-resilient capabilities.
Together, the ruggedised hardware and hardened software technologies pioneered by Trenton Systems and Star Lab respectively will not only form the advanced edge computers that power defence and aerospace applications for years to come but also change the face of the entire high-performance computing industry.