Entity Network Translation (ENT) is a lightweight, software-based, high-security turn-key protocol for fully decentralized IdAM built on RKI principals. ENT supports n-factor authentication, meaning it can incorporate any number and type of authentication factors, and factor combinations can be updated in real-time to match changing operational requirements, making it easy for the Navy to iterate an ENT-based SWFTS system to use new or novel factors. For the purposes of this submission, we use the term n-factor or multi-factor authentication to mean at least dual authentication for IdAM.
Benefit: ENT is the only solution currently offered that protects against insider threats. Secure identity and access management (IdAM) for military and commercial systems is anticipated in the next 3-5 years. In addition to military applications, the ENT protocol is a lightweight and resilient solution for the proliferation of devices/processes in the Internet of Things (IoT). Current technologies for authentication and identity, including PKI, are not secure or usable at the scale of the Industrial IoT (IIoT), which is predicted to be a huge developing market. For government systems, instead of individual agencies establishing and managing siloed identity systems, each with their own accreditation process, we envision a path to a single uniform standard for identification that becomes possible without detracting from agency authority, security, or management over their own resources. This removes the barriers (domain boundaries) between agencies that currently generate tremendous operational friction. Inter-agency identity adjudication directly enables critical joint-agency information sharing, in real-time. Systems leveraging the ENT protocol can be connected on-demand, enabling a long-term strategy for cross-domain data and resource sharing and eliminating the high cost of sharing between data silos. Ultimately, the ENT protocol is designed to enable an interoperable, robust system of systems (SoS) that can leverage/interface commercial systems, via real-world trust relationships, including at the tactical edge.
Keywords: PKI waivered systems, PKI waivered systems, Tactical Networks, two factor authentication, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), decentralization, secure identity, multiple factor authentication, insider threat reduction
