VIAVI performance testing for post-quantum cryptography deployments

Introducing cryptographic protocols can create additional network performance overhead, ultimately affecting end-user quality of experience. TeraVM Security Test is trusted by leading network security infrastructure vendors, service providers, research institutes, governments, and enterprises to emulate large-scale user endpoint traffic applications over secure access connections while measuring individual traffic flow performance across multiple quality vectors.

Quantum computers have the potential to break public-key cryptography once they begin operating at a large scale – an event not anticipated to occur for several more years. However, governments, military, enterprises, and mobile operators are already preparing for a quantum-safe future to protect their vast stores of sensitive data. The US federal government has mandated the migration of all existing public-key cryptographic systems including network security devices such as firewalls and VPN gateways to PQC.

The race is on for organisations to upgrade their processes, systems, hardware, software, and services to avoid Store Now, Decrypt Later (SNDL) threats where encrypted sensitive information can be hacked and stored to be decrypted and acted upon when quantum computers are available.

VIAVI has extensive experience testing and assuring large-scale and complex networks worldwide, including security testing. TeraVM is the first cloud-enabled test platform to support PQC algorithms mandated by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). TeraVM Security Test enables benchmarking of the performance of enterprise devices, content delivery networks and endpoints that initiate or terminate IPSec Traffic using PQC. TeravVM Security Test is a software-based test tool which can be run on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) servers or on cloud platforms. The TeraVM platform is in wide use by network equipment manufacturers, network operators, and research institutes for its proven capabilities in testing security compliance as well as performance impacts of security layers.

“Our customers have announced significant initiatives to secure their networks from post-quantum threats without compromising their users’ workday experience,” said Ian Langley, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Business Unit, VIAVI. “TeraVM Security Test will give them confidence in their capabilities through rigorous testing using standardised algorithms, emulated users, real office applications, and loaded networks.”