The Advanced Research and Development Activity (ARDA) is a U.S.
intelligence community (IC) center for conducting advanced research
and development related to information technology (IT). ARDA sponsors
high risk, high payoff research designed to produce new technology to
address some of the most important and challenging IT problems faced
by the intelligence community. The research is currently organized
into five technology thrusts: Information Exploitation, Quantum
Information Science, Global Infosystems Access, Novel Intelligence
from Massive Data, and Advanced Information Assurance. More
information is available at http://cryptome.org/traceback.htm .
The IC uses a specialized information infrastructure and a unique
security environment that must be able to acquire, retain, and provide
access to highly sensitive information for many years. In this
environment, relying solely on the commercial sector to satisfy IC
information assurance requirements is unacceptable. Relying on COTS
for certain security-critical components within the IC information
infrastructure incurs even greater risk when these components are
developed outside the purview of the IC or IC-sponsored organizations.
The Advanced Information Assurance (IA) research thrust within ARDA's
overall R&D program is tasked with providing tailored security
solutions for the IC to fill any perceived security gaps in the IC's
information infrastructure. Its program is currently focused in the
following areas: (1) countering the insider threat; (2) cyber
intelligence; (3) high assurance for IC information infrastructure;
(4) new defensive concepts; and (5) quantum cryptography.
As part of its overall IC security research program, ARDA's
Information Assurance research thrust is initiating research in
traceback within information networks used by the intelligence
community, such as NIPRNET, SIPRNET, JWICS, and IC enclaves.
