Viasat Advanced Data-at-Rest Encryption Solution Approved to Protect NATO Classified Data
03-25-2025
LONDON, U.K., Mar. 25, 2025 - Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global leader in satellite communications, today announced that DARC-ssd™ 600, its U.K. designed and manufactured next-generation data-at-rest (DAR) encrypted solid state drive (SSD), has been approved by the NATO Military Committee (MC) for securing up to and including NATO SECRET Data when at rest and is now listed on the NATO Information Assurance Product Catalogue (NIAPC). This approval from MC and inclusion in the NIAPC recognises Viasat’s solution meets the stringent requirements for securing NATO SECRET data, meaning it can be used by NATO nations to help protect NATO classified data in their systems from theft or compromise.
Viasat’s advanced data-at-rest solution expands on legacy DAR encryption solutions, providing enhanced protection for classified data across multiple systems and platforms with hardware-based encryption and continued assurance for high-risk operations using a more flexible M.2 form factor. By using the industry standard Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) interface and common form factor M.2 2280, the DARC-ssd™ 600 will allow customers to integrate next-generation encryption with the latest commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and tactical military devices – laptops, tablets, desktops, and network-attached storage.
“As a trusted provider of cyber defence and information assurance solutions, we’ve seen the evolution of encryption technology and understand the growing challenge to protect sensitive and classified data across the many devices and platforms capturing data now used for government missions,” said Todd McDonell, President of Viasat International Government. “DARC-ssd™ 600 is designed with the flexibility to address this challenge and deliver significantly improved performance compared to past data-at-rest solutions, continuing Viasat’s legacy of innovating to provide hardware encryption solutions at the highest levels to protect classified and sensitive information.”
Expanding on Viasat’s family of Eclypt DAR encryption products, DARC-ssd™ 600 integrates military level 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) hardware with full disk hardware encryption. Data is decrypted upon bootup of the device with mandatory two-factor authentication and then encrypted immediately when the device is powered off. Viasat’s solution combines this dual authentication and full disk hardware encryption within a tamper-evident internal NVMe™ M.2 SSD to safeguard sensitive and classified data.
In 2023, the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) completed its CAPS High Grade evaluation of DARC-ssd™ 600 for the protection of data up to Top Secret classification. The DARC-ssd solution is the only DAR encryption device using an NVMe interface and small form factor (M.2) that is CAPS evaluated for use securing up to and including TOP SECRET data.
To learn more about Viasat’s portfolio of DAR encryption devices, visit the Viasat DAR solutions page or view the NATO Information Assurance Product Catalogue for more about the DARC-ssd™ 600.
# # #
Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. With offices in 24 countries around the world, our mission shapes how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate and connect. Viasat is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, reliable, secure, affordable, fast connections to positively impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea, while building a sustainable future in space. In May 2023, Viasat completed its acquisition of Inmarsat, combining the teams, technologies and resources of the two companies to create a new global communications partner. Learn more at Viasat News Room or follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, and YouTube.
Copyright © 2025 Viasat, Inc. All rights reserved. Viasat, the Viasat logo and the Viasat Signal are registered in the U.S and in other countries to Viasat, Inc. All other product or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Dan Bleier, Public Relations, Government, +1 (202) 383-5074, daniel.bleier@viasat.com
Lisa Curran/Peter Lopez, Investor Relations, +1 (760) 476-2633, IR@viasat.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include statements about Viasat’s data-at-rest encryption solutions and the DARC-SSD solution’s benefits, features and capabilities including improved performance compared to existing data at rest solutions. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: risks associated with contractual problems, encryption product defects, manufacturing issues or delays, regulatory issues, technologies not being developed according to anticipated schedules, or that do not perform according to expectations; and increased competition and other factors affecting the government and defense sectors generally. In addition, please refer to the risk factors contained in Viasat’s SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including Viasat’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Viasat undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason.