COTAK Cloud Computing
All components of the COTAK system are deployed in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) GovCloud, which is designed to host sensitive data, regulated workloads, and address the most stringent U.S. government security and compliance requirements. In addition to providing high security, operating COTAK in this way reduces the risk of hardware failures, power outages, or other technical faults disrupting the system. The cloud computing system used by COTAK is maintained by State employees and vetted contractors.
TAK Server
The core of COTAK is its military-grade TAK Server, which is deployed in a secure cloud-computing environment and provides AES-256 encrypted connections to the TAK apps over any available internet connection including cellular service. The TAK Server uses these encrypted connections to route messages containing the GPS locations of first responders, as well as other information such as shapes or chat messages shared between responders. The end result of this system is that first responders using the TAK app can see the real-time location of other responders and other important information using the app.
Channels
COTAK is designed to accommodate both sensitive law enforcement operations, as well as multi-agency search and rescue missions and mutual aid. The system does this by breaking COTAK into channels, which first responders turn on or off using their TAK apps. COTAK channels do not involve voice communications, rather when a user turns a channel on they begin seeing the locations of every other responder who is also running TAK and has the same channel turned on, and they can begin interacting with those users.
Access to channels in COTAK is controlled by each user’s username/password login, which grants access to authorized channels in the system. Each agency that uses COTAK can designate one or more people as agency administrators, and these people have the ability to create new users for their agency and create channels for their agency to use. Channels can be automatically made available to all users in an agency, or an administrator can add users by name to channels for use by smaller teams within an agency.
The COTAK project team can also create mutual aid channels that are accessible by multiple agencies or by the entire state. The channels available to each user are synchronized between the COTAK website and TAK Server, and when a user opens the TAK app their available list of channels is automatically updated. Users then can turn on or off channels using the app depending on their needs.
