- Colt and Ciena completed a quantum-safe data transmission across a transatlantic route
- The companies are working on quantum-safe security in anticipation of quantum computing and its inevitable security risks
- Quantum computing capabilities could break through traditional data encryption methods as early as 2030
As if the potential security threats from AI weren’t enough, it seems we now must worry about security threats from quantum computing, as well.
Most people have never heard the term “quantum-safe,” but Colt Technology Services and Ciena are already anticipating that quantum computing will enable new, more powerful security threats, and they’re working on solutions to protect high-speed, fiber-optic networks.
Paulina Gomez, director of Portfolio Marketing for Ciena, said, “Cyber threats are becoming smarter and more aggressive, and quantum computers are getting closer to breaking classical encryption methods.”
According to Colt and Ciena, businesses are planning ahead because bad actors are intercepting and storing data in transit, waiting for future quantum computing capabilities to break through traditional data encryption methods. This could be possible as early as 2030.
“The threat of these attacks matter most for sensitive data with a long shelf life, such as intellectual property, financial records, government communications and personal data, because this information retains its value over time and will still be valuable years from now,” Gomez said.
Recently, Colt and Ciena completed a quantum-safe data transmission across a transatlantic route. The trial successfully protected live data running across 6,900 kilometers of Colt’s subsea and terrestrial network between New York and London with Ciena’s WaveLogic 6 Extreme (WL6e) encryption solution. The trial proved that data can be securely transmitted at an 800 Gb Ethernet (800 GbE) service rate — fast enough to move data-center-scale volumes across the Atlantic in seconds.
The companies’ recent trial stands out because it was over a very high-speed transmission of 800 GbE, which is at the early adoption stage. Most deployed long-haul and subsea systems today run at 100 GbE or 400 GbE.
Ciena’s solution uses Module-Lattice-Based Key-Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM) algorithms, one of the first post-quantum cryptography (PQC) methods to be officially standardized and approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It also uses Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) interworking.
Colt’s Chief Operating Officer Buddy Bayer said in a statement, “Ciena’s quantum-safe solutions show how next-generation security can be embedded into high-speed networks, ensuring protection keeps pace with performance.”
But Gomez elaborated that quantum-safe is not just for 800 GbE speeds. It is applicable across the network and ensures that data remains protected both now and in the future.
Fierce asked if there are a lot of security threats for traffic running on subsea cables? Gomez said there definitely are. “Subsea cables carry the majority of all international data (including enormous volumes of high-value, sensitive data) so securing that traffic is increasingly important,” she said.
Ciena’s high-speed quantum-safe encryption is generally available.