Orange Business and Cisco announced a collaboration to deliver post-quantum cryptography (PQC)–secured services across the Orange Business global network, targeting long-lifecycle data protection for enterprises and public-sector customers. The offering addresses the “harvest now, decrypt later” risk by making WAN traffic resilient to future quantum attacks while maintaining operational continuity.
Orange Business said it is the first European service provider to announce PQC-secured global network services based on Cisco 8000 Series Secure Routers. PQC-secured WAN services are available immediately, with PQC-secured managed Cisco SD-WAN services targeted for commercial availability in calendar Q3 2026. The companies position PQC as a software-enabled capability, easing deployment—particularly as a managed service.
The solution integrates PQC into SD-WAN control and data planes to secure site authentication, key exchange, and connectivity at the WAN level rather than per-tunnel. This approach emphasizes crypto-agility, allowing algorithms and protocols to evolve with standards while avoiding disruptive upgrades and preserving confidentiality over long data lifecycles.
- Who: Orange Business and Cisco
- What: PQC-secured global WAN and managed SD-WAN services
- How: Cisco 8000 Series Secure Routers; software-enabled PQC; centrally managed, quantum-resilient WAN
- When: PQC-secured WAN available now; managed SD-WAN PQC targeted for CY Q3 2026
- Why: Mitigate harvest-now/decrypt-later risk; future-proof WANs via crypto-agility
- Portfolio context: Part of Orange Quantum Defender
“PQC over Cisco SD-WAN is the latest addition to our Orange Quantum Defender portfolio, embedding post-quantum security early so customers can maintain confidentiality as threats evolve,” said Jean-Noël Michel, VP Communication Services Business Line at Orange Business. Cisco’s Vikas Butaney added that integrating PQC into routing and SD-WAN strengthens security while simplifying deployment as networking and security converge.
🌐 Analysis
Telecom and networking vendors increasingly move PQC from pilots into production services as standards mature and enterprise risk assessments shorten crypto refresh cycles. This announcement aligns Orange Business with early movers operationalizing crypto-agile WANs, while Cisco extends PQC beyond point solutions into routing and SD-WAN platforms—an approach competitors also pursue as customers seek network-wide quantum readiness rather than isolated fixes.
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