Controlled Interfaces Receives Us Patent For Ultrafast Optical Data Diode

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. - Aug. 18, 2021 - PRLog -- Controlled Interfaces LLC (CI) received US patent 10,966,004 for an optical fiber data diode that links Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) network interface electronics at full bandwidth. The new diode is also compliant with NIST Security Controls and verifiable by visual inspection.

Data diodes, also known as unidirectional gateways, have long been used to secure military net- works and industrial control networks in US nuclear powerplants. Hardware diodes can't be breached by any form of software attack, and are frequently recommended by the NSA to harden high risk network boundaries. Diodes are increasingly used to protect industrial networks in critical Infrastructures; notably in the oil/gas industry.

To date, data diodes have been specialized devices developed at considerable expense for gov- ernment use. In order to reduce cost, numerous government agencies have been seeking COTS solutions for "dual use" that satisfy both industrial and specialized US government requirements.

Rather than developing its own electronics, CI created an optical data diode solution that relies on "best of breed" COTS electronics from vendors whose technology advances are driven by the general economy of network communications. Specialized electronics are no longer required to achieve hardware data diode function at the fastest data link speeds, now exceeding 200G. Stan- dard network interface driver software modules may be used; simplifying logical interfaces. Emerging data diode use cases at enterprise scale are now economically feasible.

CI founder Jeff Menoher sees the new technology as game changing. "Our diodes have already achieved 100G link speeds between Arista switching platforms, so we know they are fast. They are also backward-compatible with most computing or switching platforms that already present optical network interfaces. So data diodes can be added to legacy IT infrastructures to improve their cyber security posture with very few configuration changes and minimal impact to any risk assessments or certifications already in place," stated Menoher.

CI data diodes compliment a broad variety of other cybersecurity technologies from other vendors; including data filters, boundary firewall systems, and Cross Domain Solutions.

For more information visit website https://www.controlledinterfaces.com.