• Sign In
    • Customer
    • Partner
    • Employee
    • Research
  • Create Account
  • EN
  • magnifying glass search icon to open search field
  • Get Started
  • Contact Us
  • Resources
  • Get support
  • Under Attack?
Palo Alto Networks logo
  • Products
  • Solutions
  • Services
  • Partners
  • Company
  • More
  • Sign In
    Sign In
    • Customer
    • Partner
    • Employee
    • Research
  • Create Account
  • EN
    Language
  • Get Started
  • Contact Us
  • Resources
  • Get support
  • Under Attack?
  • Unit 42 Threat Intelligence

Anonymous

Anonymous in Airlines and Federal Government
Download

At a Glance

Challenge

Support demanding tactical environments in an overhauled tactical network requiring thousands of next-generation security appliances in numerous vehicle types, as well as tents and other installations ready for rapid deployment, with threat prevention to withstand the most targeted nation-state attacks.

Solution

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Security Appliances – Virtualized

Results

• Secure readiness and responsiveness of troops
• Advanced attack threat prevention in the field
• Seamless deployment of App-ID’s for large-scale custom app support
• Resilient security in demanding tactical, rapidly mobile conditions

Palo Alto Networks Supports the Needs of the Modern Military

The modern military is capitalizing on real-time connectivity and resilience available through technology advancements in their tactical deployments. Superiority on the battlefield means today’s and future soldiers must be equipped with the integration of the most cutting-edge technology — for command, control, communications and intelligence. 

For communicating effectively in tenuous circumstances and terrains, tactical communications must be resilient — and in modern times, that means resilience to cyberattacks from sophisticated nation-states that regularly target the military. 

The communications must get to mobile outposts, and airborne and seaborne military troops as they did in the past, but with reduced equipment for flexibility and agility. They must also be mobile — on the move (OTM) — so that military units can remain agile and swift, while still in touch — and their cybersecurity must do the same. 

Military services rely on Palo Alto Networks® to meet such tactical security needs in the most demanding of circumstances. Over the years, military services have chosen the Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Security Platform for their tactical deployments for a number of reasons:

• Auto-correlation and reprogramming for swifter prevention of advanced threats in the field.

• Red team experience, proving the above with TTPs of nation- states likely to target militaries today.

• Virtualization of the aforementioned strong capabilities.

• Stability and agility to support fully mobile requirements in rugged environments and network-equipped vehicles, aircraft and seaborn assets.

• Fast, intuitive interface — the field chef or drone operator today could become the unit’s firewall expert within a mere two weeks.

• Best-in-industry APIs — swift deployments mean tying in other capabilities to configure and deploy with ease.

• Firsthand experience with the platform usability and threat prevention through nations’ participation in Cyber Range exercises as part of broader multi-nation and single-nation military exercises.

Tactical Military Network Customer

In a thousands-wide deployment of Palo Alto Networks VM- Series in a tactical environment, the military service was re-evaluating their tactical network for today’s modern requirements: fewer equipment, virtualized network functions for power and space savings, and swift on-the-move mobility for their soldiers, with resilience to advanced nation-states regularly targeting the mission network and resources. To meet these requirements, they needed a highly reliable, virtualized security platform that could be deployed across the hundreds of military vehicles and installations throughout the network.

Palo Alto Networks VM-Series Next-Generation Security Platform now secures all communications for mission-command applications across echelons, commander to troops, network-equipped tank to aircraft for this military customer. Thousands of VM-Series devices are spread across tanks and other vehicles, often with hundreds of miles between them, linked point to point only by satellite or other line-of-sight communications.

For hundreds of platforms deployed in vehicles and local command posts, the network uses the Next-Generation Firewall for blocking, with Threat Prevention for real-time sensor updates to newly discovered threats on all of the virtual firewalls across all of the deployed units. Those platform-protected nodes, which have internet access, filter their web traffic using the platform’s URL Filtering with the Next-Generation Firewall controls.

Why Palo Alto Networks?

This service chose the Next-Generation Security Platform for this massive deployment for several reasons. Beyond the platform’s value of advanced threat prevention that correlates security feeds and automates reprogramming of all network sensors, the military also chose the platform for its many other qualities that are greatly needed for this demanding environment.

Chef to Security Admin: No Problem

• Ease of use – Palo Alto Networks could meet the demanding ease of configuration requirements. In these arduous, swiftly changing environments, today’s chef could be tomorrow’s security administrator. Troops don’t have the luxury of time for training that most of their commercial counterparts enjoy.

Large-Scale, Custom Application Deployment, "At Ease"

• Ability to support thousands of custom apps – Like many defense organizations with thousands of custom applications, there were doubters who didn’t believe this support was possible without tremendous time and effort. The deployment team was pleasantly surprised at the ease of creating, maintaining and deploying their own custom applications. To prove the ease of use in Palo Alto Networks custom application identification technology (App-ID) the account team told the military service to provide their most complex applications to the team for App-ID creation. Working together, the military support teams witnessed firsthand the ease of App-ID development. Based on the customer’s firsthand experience with the ease in App-ID creation, rather than outsource to a consultant or a resident engineer, they chose to do all App-ID creation in-house.

Orchestration at Scale

• Orchestration through solid APIs – The deployment team was pleasantly surprised with the high quality APIs that allow them to orchestrate their high-scale deployments. With a push of a button, their VM-Series platform deployments can be off and running.


Securing the Vision: Secure, Military Troop Readiness and Responsiveness

The military service now has secure readiness and responsiveness to their troops, advanced threat prevention in the field against today’s nation-state adversaries, a seamless deployment of App-ID for their large-scale custom apps, and resilient security in demanding tactical, rapidly mobile environments. 

For more information on the many ways we support the civilian, defense and intelligence community needs of governments around the world, visit https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/government.

 

Sep 22, 2016 at 12:05 PM

Related Resources

Datasheet

Capitalize on the New Flexible Firewall Consumption Model

Solution Brief: Flexible Software NGFW Consumption

Read

Book

Elements of Security Operations

The Elements of SecOps book outlines the fundamental strategies, tools, and processes for building a modern security operations team that is effective, efficient, scalable, and able to meet the needs of the business.

Read

Get the latest news, invites to events, and threat alerts

By submitting this form, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Statement.

black youtube icon black twitter icon black facebook icon black linkedin icon
  • USA (ENGLISH)
  • AUSTRALIA (ENGLISH)
  • BRAZIL (PORTUGUÉS)
  • CANADA (ENGLISH)
  • CHINA (简体中文)
  • FRANCE (FRANÇAIS)
  • GERMANY (DEUTSCH)
  • INDIA (ENGLISH)
  • ITALY (ITALIANO)
  • JAPAN (日本語)
  • KOREA (한국어)
  • LATIN AMERICA (ESPAÑOL)
  • MEXICO (ESPAÑOL)
  • SINGAPORE (ENGLISH)
  • SPAIN (ESPAÑOL)
  • TAIWAN (繁體中文)
  • UK (ENGLISH)

Popular Resources

  • Blog
  • Communities
  • Content Library
  • Cyberpedia
  • Event Center
  • Investors
  • Products A-Z
  • Tech Docs
  • Unit 42
  • Sitemap

Legal Notices

  • Privacy
  • Trust Center
  • Terms of Use
  • Documents

Popular Links

  • About Us
  • Customers
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Manage Email Preferences
  • Newsroom
  • Product Certifications
Report a Vulnerability
Create an account or login

Copyright © 2023 Palo Alto Networks. All rights reserved