Today, cryptography exists primarily as an overlay, in the form of firewalls and other security add-ons. These can be difficult to scale and often require manual updates and maintenance. They also introduce opportunities for attack that can compromise the efficacy and security of an entire system simply by taking one device offline.

Upgrading to network-embedded protection can mean bringing operations to a halt while new infrastructure is established. As a new ecosystem, Golden Dome presents an opportunity to establish crypto-agile network infrastructure that can scale and evolve without impacting decision velocity. “Building directly into the network infrastructure turns cryptography from a deployment constraint to a maneuver advantage, enabling forces to adapt and keep operating even when networks are contested or degraded,” says Tom Broadwell, Principal Product Manager at Lumen.

With greater resilience and less friction, crypto-agile infrastructure enables field operators to focus on the mission instead of their equipment, even under contested and degraded conditions. The composable elements of crypto-agile network architecture are built to assure security, continuity, and flexibility in myriad ways:

A distributed cryptographic trust model operates without a central authority, meaning that “if one user, device, or system is taken offline, the network continues to run with the same level of security,” explains Tom Barnett, Director of Strategic Innovation at Lumen. “Even as infrastructure becomes degraded, the system isn’t degraded in its security.”
Protocol-free devices mitigate the danger of losing equipment; if a device goes missing, the encryption is still intact because nothing is stored on the device.
Networks have automated remediation, with keys changed every day and alerts issued if that process is interrupted. Once a time-intensive, location-bound manual process, keys can be changed in seconds at a distance with minimal interruption to operations.
Reducing friction and automating steps gives the Joint Force the ability to innovate in the field. And when implementation doesn’t require a redesign, experimentation and scaling become more accessible.

Removing Friction in AI Systems

AI is expected to play a key role in Golden Dome’s command and control functions and has the potential to both accelerate information analysis and introduce roadblocks. Every AI use case, from predictive maintenance to weapons systems, is only as valuable as the data it employs. AI-driven warfare depends on high-velocity ingestion, processing, and sharing of quality data across domains. “Cryptographic rigidity becomes an invisible tax on AI when every new data source or pipeline requires re-certification or fragile security exceptions,” Broadwell says. Crypto-agile infrastructure reduces the burden on AI systems by turning cryptography into a policy-driven, network-resident function, allowing systems to scale without cryptographic debt and providing safeguards against data poisoning.

Cryptography as Living Mission Architecture

In today’s geopolitical environment, cryptography can no longer be an overlay or a static policy. Decision superiority and agility require assured, resilient networks with built-in cryptography to enable instant adaptation to threats and continuity of operations. “Because of our integration of crypto-agile solutions,” Broadwell says, “AI and field operations can act where they’re needed, when they’re needed without cryptography governing speed or scale.”