Our client, a government agency, needed to connect two data centres transmitting data of critical national importance. With network links exposed to interception, tapping and manipulation, encryption had to be decoupled entirely from the underlying network topology and vendor environment. It couldn’t be tied to infrastructure the agency didn’t fully control.

That decoupling extended to governance as well as technology:

1. Strict separation of duties was required. Encryption policy couldn’t be managed through routine network operations or disabled without proper authorisation.
2. Independently validated certification was non-negotiable for procurement and accreditation, alongside full line-rate performance at minimal latency. The agency wasn’t willing to trade one for the other.

Operating in Transport Independent Mode (TIM), the encryptors protect traffic across Layers 2–4 using FPGA-based hardware built for minimal latency. Automated key management removed the need for manual handling beyond initial setup, and the platform supports both RESTRICTED and SECRET environments from a single certified deployment.

• Senetas CN6140 Multilink encryptors installed as a transparent bump-in-the-wire across two data centres

• TIM-mode encryption applied consistently across Layers 2–4
• Automated key management in place beyond initial setup
• Single certified platform supporting both RESTRICTED and SECRET classification levels, reducing CapEx and simplifying operations
• Encryption policy separated from network administration, strengthening enforcement
• Traffic reroutable over an alternate secure path if a link is compromised
• Crypto-agile, field-upgradeable design positions the agency for post-quantum migration