Alarmed Carriers in Protected Distribution Systems
This MARADMIN provides guidance on the use of alarmed carriers or intrusion detection systems (IDS) as mitigation strategies within Protected Distribution Systems (PDS). It allows alarmed carriers to fulfill the requirement for daily physical verification of PDS infrastructure, reducing manpower strain while maintaining security standards for transmitting unencrypted classified information.
Issued: November 16, 2005
1. THE PURPOSE OF THIS MESSAGE IS TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON USAGE OF ALARMED CARRIERS OR INTRUSION DETECTION SYSTEMS (IDS) AS MITIGATION STRATEGIES WITHIN PDS. 2. BACKGROUND A. PDS INFRASTRUCTURE EXISTS TO TRANSMIT UNENCRYPTED CLASSIFIED INFORMATION THROUGH AN AREA OF LESSER CLASSIFICATION OR CONTROL. IT MUST PROVIDE ADEQUATE ELECTRICAL, ELECTROMAGNETIC, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS TO DETER EXPLOITATION. ALL PDS MUST BE VERIFIED TO BE COMPLIANT BY A CERTIFIED TEMPEST TECHNICAL AUTHORITY (CTTA) AND ACCREDITED BY THE SERVICE DESIGNATED APPROVAL AUTHORITY (DAA) FOR CONNECTION AND OPERATION PER REF(S) A AND B. B. A VITAL AND MANDATED PART OF EVERY PDS SECURITY PROGRAM IS THE REQUIREMENT TO VISUALLY INSPECT THE PDS CARRIER ON A DAILY BASIS. THIS REQUIREMENT PLACES A PHYSICAL STRAIN ON MARINE CORPS MANPOWER AND TAKES NUMEROUS MAN-HOURS TO THOROUGHLY ACCOMPLISH. TO PROVIDE RELIEF ON RESOURCE STRAIN AND PROVIDE IMPLEMENTATION FLEXIBILITY, REF(S) A AND B ALLOW FOR AND PROVIDE GUIDANCE FOR THE USAGE OF ALARMED CARRIERS AS A MITIGATION STRATEGY TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENT FOR DAILY PHYSICAL VERIFICATIONS AND VISUAL INSPECTIONS. ADDITIONALLY, AN ALARMED CARRIER CAN SERVE AS A MITIGATION STRATEGY FOR MONITORING CONDUIT INSTALLED ABOVE A FALSE CEILING OR WITHIN A BULKHEAD. 3. POLICY A. ALARMED CARRIERS MAY BE IMPLEMENTED AS MITIGATION STRATEGIES TO FULFILL THE REQUIREMENT FOR DAILY PHYSICAL VERIFICATION OF PDS INFRASTRUCTURE. B. PER REF(S) A AND B, THE COMPLETE MITIGATION STRATEGY USING AN ALARMED CARRIER WILL INCLUDE A THOROUGH STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SOP) APPROVED BY THE SECURITY OFFICER OR COMMANDER. THIS SOP WILL INCLUDE VERIFICATION OF SYSTEM PERFORMANCE AT INTERVALS, DETAILED ALARM RESPONSE PROCEDURES, AND SYSTEM FAILURE PROCEDURES. C. ALARM SYSTEM PERFORMANCE MUST BE VERIFIED FOR EACH SEPARATE SECTION OR ZONE FOR THE ALARM SYSTEM IAW THE REFS. D. ALARM CARRIER DESIGN PROPOSALS WILL BE SUBMITTED AS PART OF THE NORMAL PDS DESIGN REQUEST PROCEDURES PER REF A. 4. QUESTIONS MAY DIRECTED TO THE CITED POCS.