Page 13 - FCW, June 2017

CYBERSECURITY OPTICAL DATA ENCRYPTION
Protect Data in Transit:
A Forward-Thinking Approach
Applying optical encryption to in-flight data can help ensure greater data security.
gencies have long accepted the importance of data encryption to their
cybersecurity efforts. But they might not realize the particular advantages of
high-speed encryption, especially when performed at the optical layer.
Relying on encryption at the network layer (Layer 3) has some shortcomings. It can add significant latency and complexity to the network. This is especially true as agencies today require high-availability, time-sen- sitive communications and applications requiring low latency, such as high-definition video. That’s where optical encryption enters the picture.
Federal regulations require data to be encrypted when in transit, whether moving across external
or private networks. In most cases, that means complying with the requirements of a number of federal regulations. The tactical approach agencies take to encrypting data in transit depends on several factors—including the type of data they’re protecting, internal agency requirements, and how long agencies’ data security technologies have been place.
The technologies available for encrypting data in transit have come a long way, but the rapid increase in data rate has not been matched by encryption solutions. Optical encryption solves that problem. Today, more organizations are taking advantage of optical encryption. Performed at the transport layer (Layer 1), optical encryption involves encrypting data packets directly in the path of optical modems. That means data in transit is encrypted as it moves over optical waves across fiber-optic cables. This method works with all protocols, packets, frame sizes, and data types.
Because the encryption takes place at the optical layer inside the modem, all IP packet header information is also encrypted. This helps ensure no sensitive information is left unencrypted. In some cases, the packet header information, which includes
who is reading the data and where, is more important than the actual contents of the data. This is different from encryption techniques at other layers.
“There has been a more recent focus on data-at-rest encryption strategies because there’s a belief that data- in-flight has been solved when in fact it hasn’t,” says Rob McLaughlin, director of DoD/Special Programs
at Ciena. “The legacy approaches to data-in-flight encryption either cannot keep up with the increases in network speeds nor can they offer lower latency required of new applications. That’s where optical encryption embedded in the modems brings value.”
A BETTER ENCRYPTION APPROACH
Unlike encryption at other layers, which requires adding hardware to the network, optical encryption is part of the modem, which means agencies don’t need additional equipment. This improves
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