Reflection Desktop

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	Reflection Desktop is terminal emulation software. It connects users to International Business Machines (IBM), UNIX, Linux, Open Virtual Memory System (OpenVMS), and Hewlett Packard (HP) applications from their desktops. This product supports Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-256) encryption and authentication technologies, and it includes a Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS 140-2) validated cryptographic module as well as enhanced support for public key infrastructure (PKI). There are two different editions of this technology: Reflection Desktop and Reflection Desktop Pro. This entry covers both editions. This entry covers the Desktop Edition of this technology and not any mobile versions. Please note that the implementation of mobile technology applications that operate on Mobile Operating Systems must be reviewed and approved by the Mobile Technology and Endpoint Security Engineering Team: http://vaww.eie.va.gov/SysDesign/CS/MT/default.aspx
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v23.1
Decision Date:	01/31/2023 at 03:11:06 UTC
Aliases:	Terminal Emulator, Reflection 2014, Attachmate Reflection Desktop, Reflection Desktop Pro, Micro Focus Reflection Desktop Pro
Introduced By:	Extended Tool List (ETL)
Vendor Name:	Micro Focus

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
14.0.5	09/01/2008
14.0.6	04/09/2009
14.0.6029
14.0.x	05/31/2006
15.6.x (2014)	02/20/2014
16.0.x	10/29/2015		10/29/2017
16.1.x	02/27/2017		11/15/2019
16.2.x	02/01/2019		02/21/2021
17.0.x	10/07/2021	10/31/2024
18.0.x	12/08/2022	12/31/2026

Current Decision Matrix (01/24/2023)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

<Past

CY2016

CY2017

CY2018

Future>

Release

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

14.0.5

Unapproved

14.0.6

Unapproved

14.0.6029

Unapproved

14.0.x

Divest
[3, 4, 5]

Approved w/Constraints
[4, 5, 6, 7]

Unapproved

15.6.x (2014)

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5]

Approved w/Constraints
[4, 5, 6, 7]

Divest
[4, 5, 6, 7]

Divest
[5, 6, 7, 8]

Divest
[5, 7, 8, 9]

Unapproved

16.0.x

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5]

Approved w/Constraints
[4, 5, 6, 7]

Approved w/Constraints
[5, 6, 7, 8]

Approved w/Constraints
[5, 7, 8, 9]

16.1.x

Unapproved

Approved w/Constraints
[5, 7, 8, 9]

16.2.x

Unapproved

17.0.x

Unapproved

18.0.x

Unapproved

Decision Constraints


[1]	This Technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population.

[2]	Product must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines.

[3]	The software FTP Client must utilize the sFTP protocol instead of the FTP protocol.

[4]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[5]	Due to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified security vulnerabilities, extra vigilance should be applied to ensure the versions remain properly patched to mitigate known and future vulnerabilities. The local ISO can provide assistance in reviewing the NIST vulnerabilities.

[6]	The software File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Client must utilize the sFTP protocol instead of the FTP protocol. If free trialware is utilized, the software must be purchased or removed at the end of the trial period.

[7]	Users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Office (ISO) or local OIT representative for permission to download and use this software. Downloaded software must always be scanned for viruses prior to installation to prevent adware or malware. Freeware may only be downloaded directly from the primary site that the creator of the software has advertised for public download and user or development community engagement. Users should note, any attempt by the installation process to install any additional, unrelated software is not approved and the user should take the proper steps to decline those installations.

[8]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[9]	The software File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Client must utilize the Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) protocol instead of the FTP protocol as FTP is currently unapproved in the TRM. If free trialware is utilized, the software must be purchased or removed at the end of the trial period.

Note:

At the time of writing, version 18.0 is the most current version, released 12/08/2022. A standard configuration of this technology was developed by the DDE team. At the time of writing, the standard version is 18.0.607.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Description
Vendor Provided*	Extended Support Information	This links to information on the extended support options for this technology.
Vendor Provided*	Release Notes	This links to the Release Notes for version 18.0 of Reflection Desktop.
Vendor Provided*	Product Support Lifecycle	This links to the Product Support Lifecycle information for various versions of Reflection Desktop.
*NOTE: Vendor provided information is subject to the accuracy of the manufacturer.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Name	Description
Micro Focus Connection .r04 files	These files are created when archives are split.
Micro Focus RegistryChange	Use this Knowledge Script to monitor changes in the registry information on 32-bit and 64-bit Windows systems. This script raises an event if a key or value is added, deleted, or changed in the registry. In addition, this script generates datastreams for registry changes.
Reflection for ReGis Graphics	Reflection Remote Graphic Instruction Set (ReGIS) Client, version 14.0.2 is used to connect to a Digital Equipment Corporation virtual terminal over Secure Socket Layer/ Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS) or Secure Shell/Secure Shell File Transfer Protocol (SSH/SFTP).
Reflection X	Reflection X allows Windows users to use graphical and command-line based applications on remote UNIX, Linux, and Open Virtual Memory System (OpenVMS) hosts.
Region 4 Connection Files	These files are used in password caching.

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Systems Management Systems Management Tools	System Change and Configuration Management

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) - Approved w/Constraints
Windows Client - Approved w/Constraints
Windows Server - Approved w/Constraints

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

The vendor for this technology offers extended support beyond the standard End-of-Support date.
At the time of writing, no National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) vulnerabilities had been reported and no VA Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) bulletins had been issued for the latest versions of this technology.
This is a well-documented technology.

Adoption Risks

The vendor has published multiple security alerts for Reflection Desktop.
While vendor documentation states that Reflection Desktop supports and is compliant with Federal Information Processing standards (FIPS) 140-2, there is no indication that it is FIPS 140-2 certified.
This technology can potentially use File Transfer Protocol (FTP), an unapproved protocol.
Due to the rapid release schedule of this technology, the VA may be unable to update to the most recent patch and may require a deployment model requiring the use of specific versions.
This technology can potentially use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), an unapproved protocol.
The potential exists to store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and/or VA Sensitive data and proper security standards must be followed in these cases.
There are other approved solutions that provide similar functionality available on the TRM. The use of several similar solutions may increase organization requirements for support and maintenance.
This technology has a free trial period, which carries the potential for the disruption of service delivery and inaccurate financial planning.

Architectural Benefits

This technology is portable as it runs on multiple VA approved operating systems.
This technology is compatible with virtual machines, therefore consistent with the enterprise Server Virtualize First Policy (VAIQ 7266972 08-27-2012).

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General Information

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Current Decision Matrix (01/24/2023)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

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Comparable Technologies:

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

General Information

Vendor Release Information

Current Decision Matrix (01/24/2023)

Decision Constraints

References

Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

Adoption Risks

Architectural Benefits

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