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Global Crossing Deploys Secure Remote Access for Royal Air Force Messaging Service
- RAFMail managed messaging service supports 63,000 users at 66 sites around the world.
- Remote authentication adds additional layer of protection for access to restricted data.
- Latest upgrade is part of a 10-year contract to manage RAFMail messaging service.
Florham Park, NJ - June 20, 2006 -- Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBC) announced today it has completed the implementation of a Secure Remote Access Service (SRAS) for the Royal Air Force (RAF) managed messaging service, RAFMail. This latest enhancement provides registered users with secure access to e-mail and the RAF network when they are away from the office or deployed to remote locations. RAFMail is used by 63,000 air force and Ministry of Defence (MoD) personnel at 66 stations in the UK and around the world, including Cyprus, the Ascension Islands and the Falklands.
"The new Secure Remote Access Service replaces an outdated modem service and provides a more secure access method to restricted data, while offering a more reliable and efficient access mode for registered users," said Squadron Leader Steve Palfrey. "This new access solution enables the RAF and an increasing number of army, navy and civilian personnel to safely and securely remain in touch wherever they may be."
This secure remote access solution applies to restricted traffic and allows users to access their data remotely from home, while on deployment or from a hotel room. Once issued with a laptop or workstation built to the RAF's security standard, personnel can use Global Crossing's fully managed SRAS to access their mailbox, files and even the UK Defence Intranet. By deploying a bundle of connectivity options including the defence wide area network, leased lines, satellite links, PSTN and ISDN access, Global Crossing's service enables the entire worldwide MoD community to stay in touch. The RAF has international theatres of operation in Cyprus, the Ascension Islands and the Falklands.
Phil Metcalf, managing director of Global Crossing UK, commented: "Our long association with the RAF has been marked by our commitment to continuously refresh and improve the level of service we provide. I'm delighted we've implemented these latest upgrades, collaborating with RAF personnel to provide a secure, efficient and future-proof messaging service for them and other branches of the armed forces."
Users connect remotely to RAFMail via a telephone or ISDN connection. The user is issued a responder token, which uses "challenge and response" methodology to generate one-off passwords for user authentication. The security technology was designed in cooperation with the UK government's Communication Electronics Security Group and provides a highly-secure authentication process for remote users who may be accessing restricted data.
This latest upgrade to RAFMail is part of a 10-year contract awarded to Global Crossing in December 1998 to manage and upgrade the RAF's mail and messaging service. At the time, the agreement was one of the first Public Finance Initiative (PFI) projects to be let by the MoD.
The service is constantly being reviewed and was upgraded to a Microsoft Exchange 5.5 infrastructure from the legacy X.400 backbone infrastructure in 2004. The high-capacity mail servers provide load balancing and virus protection to the RAFMail messaging infrastructure, and provide average message transit times of seven seconds, which also includes the use of military satellite to transmit to isolated stations such as the Falklands in the southern Atlantic.
Another upgrade under way is the migration to a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory environment. Global Crossing has introduced systems to automate the management of the RAF's global directory. Management and updating of the global address list previously was the responsibility of IT staff at each station. The process now has been automated to occur overnight every 24 hours. Keeping the directory database more accurate has led to a substantial reduction in non-delivery reports, further improving messaging transit times.
RAFMail is supported from Global Crossing's network management centre at Crewe in northwest England and includes a help desk function. In the spirit of a Private Finance Initiative project and to ensure the RAF has direct involvement in the ongoing development and management of the service, three RAF employees are based at Global Crossing's network operations centre. In the event of a civil emergency, RAF personnel could take over the operation of the messaging network.
ABOUT GLOBAL CROSSING
Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBC) provides telecommunications solutions over the world's first integrated global IP-based network. Its core network connects more than 300 cities in 28 countries worldwide, and delivers services to more than 600 cities in 60 countries and 6 continents around the globe. The company's global sales and support model matches the network footprint and, like the network, delivers a consistent customer experience worldwide.
Global Crossing IP services are global in scale, linking the world's enterprises, governments and carriers with customers, employees and partners worldwide in a secure environment that is ideally suited for IP-based business applications, allowing e-commerce to thrive. The company offers a full range of managed data and voice products including Global Crossing IP VPN Service, Global Crossing Managed Services and Global Crossing VoIP services, to 36 percent of the Fortune 500, as well as 700 carriers, mobile operators and ISPs.
Please visit www.globalcrossing.com for more information about Global Crossing.
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Statements in this press release about expected future events and financial results are forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially, including risks referenced from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Global Crossing undertakes no duty to update information contained in this press release or in other public disclosures at any time.
CONTACT GLOBAL CROSSING:
Press Contact
Mish Desmidt
Europe
+ 44 (0) 1256 732 866
EuropePR@globalcrossing.com
Analysts/Investors Contact
Laurinda Pang
+ 1 800 836 0342
glbc@globalcrossing.com
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