Space Systems Command (SSC) is changing how it collaborates with industry on the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications (ESS) system, using Project Enigma to move classified engineering data digitally instead of relying on physical media.
ESS will serve as the next generation of strategic nuclear command, control, and communications, replacing strategic communications services provided by the Advanced Extremely High Frequency constellation.
Project Enigma is currently an Impact Level 6 (IL6) environment where government and industry partners can transfer data, use model-based systems engineering (MBSE) tools, use secure voice communications and collaborate on classified information.
Development of the platform began in January 2023, when SSC awarded General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) an other transaction authority agreement through the Space Enterprise Consortium to develop a prototype secure digital environment.
Dean LoNigro, S6 chief of cyber threat response and information system security manager for System Delta 88, said in an interview with MeriTalk that Project Enigma targets a longstanding obstacle to classified government-industry collaboration: moving information between organizations without being able to digitally connect their separate classified environments.
That process has commonly been called “sneakernet” – physically moving information using CDs, couriers, or secured mail services. LoNigro said Project Enigma reduces these transfer processes that previously took weeks to minutes.
With Project Enigma, authorized users can instead upload and access that information within the secure environment.
“As a matter of fact, engineers and government officials on both sides can work in the exact same environment at the same time,” LoNigro said.
The platform reached operational use in April after partners progressed over the preceding two years from initial testing to test data and, ultimately, operational data, Travis Dawson, Enigma lead and senior program director at GDIT, told MeriTalk in a separate interview.
“We’ve heard the success stories from industry partners, how Enigma has reduced their workload from weeks to minutes,” Dawson said.
Dawson said six industry partners are using the platform, two more are being connected, and additional partners are lined up. He did not identify the companies.
Dawson said one of the project’s “biggest technical challenges” has been dealing with the “unknown configurations and security postures of industry partners” before connecting them to the environment – a process that requires “technical evaluations” and “back and forth data calls” to ensure the right security measures are in place.
For SSC, the effort extends beyond eliminating CDs and couriers. Project Enigma is intended to shorten development timelines and help the command deliver new capabilities as technology and potential adversaries continue to advance.
“Ultimately, it’s been a project that’s designed to get future solutions to the warfighter faster,” LoNigro said. “The speed our enemies are moving at, we need to keep up and surpass them. And Project Enigma is designed to get the warfighter their tools faster.”
Other government organizations are also showing interest in the approach, according to LoNigro. He said SSC is willing to share its experience, lessons learned, and technologies with organizations evaluating whether Project Enigma could support their own classified collaboration requirements.
“There has been interest across multiple organizations,” LoNigro said, adding that SSC’s experience developing the capability could help other organizations identify ways to work faster.