US defence contractor secures its transatlantic network without disrupting operations
Industry: Defence
Region: Americas
The challenge for Senetas
Our client, a defence sector provider operating across multiple sites in the United States and Europe, was mandated by the US Government to encrypt its wide area network.
As a contractor handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), the organisation needed to meet NIST SP 800-171 — the federal standard for protecting sensitive information within non-federal systems — or risk losing eligibility for government contracts.
The network itself presented a layered challenge:
- A combination of Metro Ethernet and point-to-point links, with some point-to-point connections running MPLS on the local side.
- The need to work transparently across this mixed infrastructure, protecting data in transit without adding latency, breaking existing routing or requiring redesign.
Our team designed and delivered a certified encryption layer that could sit across this environment end-to-end. Furthermore, the solution met the compliance mandate without necessitating redesign of the network itself.
Outcomes in summary
- CN6140 and CN9120 certified network encryptors across US and European sites
CN6140
CN9120
- Protocol-transparent encryption across mixed Metro Ethernet and MPLS point-to-point infrastructure
- Compliance with NIST SP 800-171 for protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
- Zero impact on network performance or existing routing during rollout
- Encryptors independently certified to FIPS 140-2/140-3 Level 3, providing confidence in a defence-grade security posture
- A proven solution for rolling out to further sites