Senator Kit Bond visits Techguard for PoliWall Q Product Launch

For those of you who wonder what I do during the day, I am software developer for TechGuard Security. The PoliWall Q is a commercially available version of the product that we develop. It is designed to block (or allow) data sent to a private network. One of it’s main features is the ability to block or allow entire countries.

During the week of the PoliWall Q’s launch, we were visited by Senator Kit Bond, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence committee.Senator Bond’s support of small defense contractors has played a crucial role in the development of the PoliWall technology. During the Senator’s visit, TechGuard demonstrated the PoliWall’s capabilities by blocking various simulated attacks from China on our network.

I had the rare opportunity to meet the Senator after the product simulation. Listening to what the Senator had to say about cyber terrorism and the recent 4th of July cyber attacks was a humbling experience. Below is the article that Senator Bond released yesterday on his website about TechGuard.

July 17, 2009

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – In the wake of recent cyber attacks on U.S. government computer networks, U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, today visited Chesterfield-based TechGuard Security and warned the nation remains vulnerable to cyber terrorism threats from around the globe.

Over the July 4^th weekend, U.S. government networks including those at the State Department, Department of Defense and the White House came under attack. Evidence suggests that the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ were also targeted and news reports attribute these attacks to North Korea or pro North Korean actors. Bond emphasized that while the consequences of these attacks were not terribly severe, the attacks underscore the very real threat of cyber terrorism and the importance of the work being done by TechGuard and other companies who work to develop technologies to defend the nation’s networks from cyber attacks.

Earlier this week TechGuard launched PoliWall Q, a high-performance security appliance to counter global network attacks. The device relies on the use of a Heuristic Internet Protocol Packet Inspection Engine (HIPPIE), which Senator Bond and Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) secured $2 million for the development of in the fiscal year 2008 and 2009 Department of Defense appropriations bills.

The HIPPIE technology is capable of blocking entire countries or areas from accessing a network while allowing a selected group of internet protocol addresses to continue communications. Its development is especially useful to military and intelligence professionals who must be able to share information securely while maintaining the ability to stop cyber terrorists from accessing a network with the click of a button.

The launch of the PoliWall Q will allow TechGuard to offer the HIPPIE technology to commercial entities to protect better America’s financial, healthcare and education markets that remain even more vulnerable than government networks to attack. The Senator pointed out that it is the creativity of the people at TechGuard and other similar businesses that will help the U.S. protect these vital networks from attack.

“As we see today, small businesses like TechGuard have the ability to innovate quickly and in a specialized way,” Bond said. “Congress should continue to encourage this type of small business innovation that is so critical to sustaining the U.S. military’s strong qualitative edge against current and future adversaries, particularly the emerging cyber threat.”

Article from: Senator Visits Missouri-Based TechGuard Security, Warns Nation Remains at Risk

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