Gigamon unveils quantum-safe cryptography in GigaVUE update

Gigamon has announced the release of GigaVUE 6.12, introducing support for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as part of its Deep Observability Pipeline. This latest capability is designed to help organisations defend against cryptographic threats made possible by quantum computing, and accelerate preparations for future quantum-safe security standards.

Quantum security concerns

There is growing industry concern that quantum computing will render current public key encryption methods ineffective. Analysts have forecast that traditional cryptography could become unsafe by 2030. In a recent survey by Gigamon of more than 1,000 Security and IT leaders, 73 percent indicated they are already planning to implement PQC measures in their networks as part of preparing hybrid cloud infrastructure for quantum threats.

"Quantum readiness isn't a future concern. It's a critical imperative for all security teams today," said Chaim Mazal, Chief AI and Security Officer, Gigamon

Encryption visibility

Transitioning to PQC requires enterprises to understand where cryptography is being used, the flow of data between systems, and which assets remain vulnerable. Gigamon's Deep Observability Pipeline offers network-derived telemetry by correlating packet, flow, and metadata with logs from security, cloud and observability tools, delivering visibility into encrypted environments.

This technology enables organisations to identify weak cipher suites and non-compliant encryption standards that may otherwise remain concealed within encrypted network flows. Gigamon's solution also allows inventories of cryptographic use and validation of PQC adoption, whether using classic or quantum-safe algorithms.

TLS 1.3 adoption

An ongoing shift to TLS 1.3, the only protocol currently supporting PQC, is underway among enterprises. Gigamon supports TLS 1.3 out of the box, and offers the choice between decrypting network traffic or selectively using its Precryption technology. The latter provides cleartext visibility into encrypted traffic flows for virtual, cloud, and container environments without the need to perform invasive 'break and inspect' procedures.

Emerging threats

The industry faces increasing risk from "harvest now, decrypt later" strategies, where attackers capture encrypted data today with the intent to decrypt it in the future using quantum computers. According to advisory firm Gartner, this has accelerated the urgency around migration to quantum-safe cryptography, and governments and regulatory authorities are moving to mandate such upgrades.

Gigamon's Application Metadata Intelligence (AMI) extends visibility into encrypted traffic with context at the application level, and now also supports PQC. This means security teams can identify and flag insecure cryptographic use, with the ability to act promptly on potential threats and prevent future data breaches caused by advances in computational power.

Integration and reporting

Gigamon's new PQC features allow integration with security tools such as SIEM, vulnerability management, and compliance platforms. The pipeline provides flow records and metadata to popular tools including Splunk, QRadar, and Elastic, supporting the generation of dashboards and compliance alerts for the use of insecure cryptographic standards.

The system offers teams the capability to discover and retire outdated versions of TLS/SSL, minimising exposure to attacks and supporting compliance needs as enterprises prepare for quantum-resistant environments. By extracting metadata such as protocol version, cipher suite, SNI, and endpoint IPs, Gigamon supports deeper observability without requiring widespread decryption of network traffic.

Post-quantum transition

Gigamon asserts that its new capabilities will allow Security and IT teams to address the shift to PQC more effectively by helping them identify existing cryptographic weaknesses and close security gaps during the transition period.

Mazal added "With the advances we've made, I'm optimistic about the safeguards we're building to future-proof hybrid cloud infrastructure and its data. The Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline delivers the encryption visibility and network intelligence organizations require today, while building a resilient foundation for tomorrow's quantum-safe future."