AFRL Successfully Demonstrates High-Assurance Security Architecture Published Dec. 4, 2006 By Information Directorate AFRL/IF ROME, N.Y. -- AFRL is working with industry under the High-Assurance Security Architecture for Embedded Systems program to develop and advance the Multiple Independent Levels of Security/Safety (MILS) architecture, an enabling technology offering an affordable near-term solution to building high-assurance systems such as multilevel security systems. AFRL successfully demonstrated the MILS architecture by integrating products from competing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) vendors to showcase the benefits of the MILS architecture applied to warfighter nodes and connected to the Global Information Grid. Raytheon, under contract with AFRL, provided the application software and orchestrated the MILS demonstration, which presented a simulated airborne reconnaissance mission scenario using MILS products supplied by leading software vendors and running on networked processors and workstations. AFRL and its industry partners successfully demonstrated a capability to affordably ensure the separation of multiple levels of data using COTS components. This technology provides the Air Force (AF) and other services with a capability to protect warfighter data, thereby contributing significantly to the AF's position as a leader in the global information systems technologies defense arena. Furthermore, the MILS architecture is not only applicable to the Department of Defense, but is directly transferable to other domains involving a critical infrastructure, including supervisory control and data acquisition, financial, medical, intelligent transportation systems, and consumer electronics applications--all of which require secure, high assurance performance.