Cummings Engineering, in partnership with Ascent Rugged Mobile, is launching SAIFE Defender, a commercial rugged Android device with secure digital communications.


SAIFE Defender, a rugged mobile Android device with interoperable secure communications capabilities, is platform-neutral; field officers can communicate securely with each other even if they are using different devices, such as a BlackBerry, iPhone or Droid. Additionally, agencies don’t have to invest in unique radio infrastructure but instead can securely leverage existing commercial carrier networks such as Verizon, AT&T, and others.

“We want to be the Swiss Army knife of secure mobile applications for the military and law enforcement communities,” said Darren Cummings, CEO, Cummings Engineering. “Our product is truly BYOD, giving users the ability to leverage commercially available hardware and software to operate on any commercial network, cellular or WiFi and remain secure and protected.”

Additionally, specialized applications are built on top of Cummings’ secure framework offering government users capabilities they didn’t previously have or couldn’t use due to the lack of security.

The underlying technology that encrypts, stores and transmits the data has been accredited by the National Institute of Standards & Technology (FIPS 140-2). This allows the U.S. government and other regulated industries such as medical services that collect, store, transfer, share and disseminate sensitive information to quickly and cost-effectively use the modules and security capabilities Cummings offers.