Ericsson and Telstra encrypt in-transit data over 100Gbps link

Ericsson, Ciena, and Telstra have encrypted data while in transit over a 100Gbps link between the US and Australia using multiple subsea cable systems, following their successful trial over a 10Gbps link earlier this year.

(Image: Ericsson)

Ericsson and Telstra have announced achieving the encryption of data while in transit over a 100Gbps link between Australia and the United States by using telecommunications equipment and software provider Ciena's 100Gbps wire-speed ultra-low latency encryption solution.

Using optical encryption technology, the companies claimed the ability to secure data while in transit over 21,940km between Melbourne and Los Angeles without impacting speed, reliability, and latency.

According to the three companies, data can now be securely encrypted at both the network layer and the application layer, which could be used by organisations with high security obligations including defence, government, finance, healthcare, and datacentre operations.

The companies were also able to secure the data across multiple vendor submarine cables, including the Japan-US Unity subsea cable system, the Australia-Japan Cable (AJC), the Asia-America Gateway (AAG), and the Endeavour subsea cable system.

Ericsson said that testing this functionality was a vital step in moving towards commercialisation for Telstra to use the capability for its services.

"This demonstration shows that customer services with large bandwidth requirements can be secured and data transported across virtually any distance and over an underlying network that uses multiple vendors," Telstra executive director of International Operations and Services Darrin Webb said.

"This means we can provide service consistency regardless of the cable system used. Customers will also be able to protect their data not only at the application layer, but also at the network layer without any reduction in quality."

The announcement follows Telstra, Ericsson, and Ciena in January achieving the encryption of data while in transit over a 10Gbps link between Melbourne and Los Angeles.

At the time, Webb said Telstra would work with Ciena and Ericsson to test 100Gbps encryption within six months.

Last year, they also undertook a trial of encrypting data across Telstra's Sydney-Canberra-Melbourne optical transmission network, managing to secure data as it exited the private cloud and travelled along the network.

With Ericsson taking the integration role and Ciena's WaveLogic encryption product operating at 200Gbps speeds on Telstra's inter-city network, the trial saw the three companies secure and protect data across the high-capacity network.

According to Ciena, the end result is secure, encrypted data that does not slow down the network.

"Businesses today recognise the importance of securing data not only inside the enterprise, but also as it leaves the private cloud and traverses across the network, without adding latency or sacrificing the end-user experience," Francois Locoh-Donou, senior VP and COO of Ciena, said at the time.