Orange Business and Cisco have announced the introduction of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) solutions for the Orange Business global network infrastructure. The initiative is intended to protect network traffic for customers across sectors, including enterprises and public sector organisations, against potential future quantum-based threats.
Orange Business states that it is the first European service provider to announce global network services secured with PQC based on Cisco 8000 Series Secure Routers. These routers are designed to support quantum-safe network connectivity.
PQC-secured WAN services are available immediately. PQC-secured Orange Business managed Cisco SD-WAN services are targeted for commercial availability in the third quarter of 2026. The services are intended to help protect sensitive data moving between organisations, the cloud and data centres against risks associated with advances in quantum computing.
As quantum computing develops, many widely used classical cryptographic algorithms are expected to become more vulnerable. This creates the risk that data intercepted today could be decrypted in the future, often referred to as the “Harvest now, Decrypt Later” threat. Integrating PQC into Cisco SD-WAN infrastructure allows it to be deployed as a software feature, including as part of a managed service, to help address current and future security risks.
The integration of PQC into SD-WAN is designed to secure both the control and data planes of the infrastructure, including how sites connect, authenticate and exchange keys. According to the companies, this approach is intended to secure the broader WAN environment rather than individual tunnels, providing a centrally managed WAN that can adapt as cryptographic standards evolve.
PQC over Cisco SD-WAN forms part of the Orange Quantum Defender portfolio. Orange states that its quantum-safe networking strategy focuses on preparing enterprise and critical infrastructure customers for the potential impact of quantum computing by incorporating post-quantum security into network infrastructure in advance.
The company’s quantum-safe networking strategy also emphasises crypto-agility, enabling networks to modify or upgrade cryptographic algorithms and protocols with limited disruption, while maintaining data confidentiality over long lifecycles.
