Miniaturized Crypto Solutions

Request for Information (RFI) For Miniaturized Crypto Solutions Government Follow Up Questions to Industry Day This Request for Information (RFI) is in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.215-3 (Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes - Oct 1997) and is published to obtain information for use by the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center (AFLCMC), Cryptologic Systems Division (CPSD), COMSEC Products Branch (HNCC), Joint Base San Antonio - Lackland, Texas, for market research and planning purposes only. This RFI is NOT a Request for Proposal, Invitation for Bid, or an announcement of a solicitation; it is only intended for information or planning purposes. There is no bid package or solicitation document associated with this announcement. Response to this RFI is strictly voluntary and will not affect any potential offeror's ability to submit an offer if a solicitation is released. Any requests for a solicitation package will be disregarded. The government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or otherwise pay for the information solicited. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the government will arise as a result of preparing submissions in response to this RFI and the government's use of such information. Submittals will not be returned to the sender. Respondents to this RFI may be requested to provide additional information/details based on their initial submittals. AFLCMC/HNCC requests industry provides information on Suite B based, NSA Type 1 (available and under development) certified or certifiable Miniaturized Cryptographic (MC) devices for Secret and Below information protection. The cryptographic device will need to be capable of meeting highly optimized Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) constraints while supporting modest data throughput. AFLCMC/HNCC envisions MC to be an embeddable module, however alternate solutions may be considered for installation. Embedment/installation will be required to operate within a system employing advanced electronic technology. The Government requests your company address the following questions: 1) What is your recommendation for a standard MC/host interface which would facilitate ease of embedment and comply with other MC requirements, such as size, weight, power, and data rates? 2) For your MC solution, what is your projected Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) and Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) (mean time to replace a failed MC device in a host)? If you have devices similar to MC, what are your MTBF and MTTR for these devices? 3) What is the expected repair capability of the component(s)? 4) What support or special test equipment will be required for sustainment/operational checkout? 5) Do you think long lead items will need to be purchased in order to produce these devices? 6) The following Notional Mini-Crypto Requirements were presented during Industry Day. Request your company provide feedback. In your feedback please also address whether the requirements are realistic or unrealistic, with rationale and possible tradeoff options that may be implemented to meet the requirement. Category Requirement Throughput 9 Kbps (min) 10 Mbps (max) Size Width: 2" (max) Length: 1.5" (max) Weight < 20 grams (w/shielding) Power < 200 mW (@10Mbps) Key Management Random Key Generation Password of the Day Bypass (Plain text) Over The Air Keying Over The Air Rekey Traditional Keying Key Management Protocols ECDSA (P-256/P-384) ECDH (P-256/P-384) SHA-256/384 Cryptographic Algorithms AES (FIPS 197) Key length 128/256 Handling CHVP (CNSSI 4031) Mode Counter Galois Counter Mode Cipher Feedback Mode Tactical Key Management Multi-Modal Keying (Mission Time) that supports PKI/KMI certificates Data Protection Secret and Below (SAB) Releasability United States Military Homeland Security (local/state/federal) Coalition Friendly Forces Anti Tamper Active Passive Zeroization Event Based On Command Adaptability Usable by multiple waveforms / communication systems (Standard Interfaces) Maintainability Support software / firmware updates Environmental MIL-STD-810