In September 2022, the International Use Cases for Operational Quantum Key Distribution Applications and Services project (INT-UQKD) was launched in Luxembourg. As its name suggests, the objective of this project is to enable quantum-safe communication links for specific use cases in operational IT environments.
A further objective is to demonstrate the technology’s maturity for commercial use. As Starion’s experts prepare for another INT-UQKD demonstration this week, Juan Jose Garrido, INT-UQKD Project Manager, explains why the project is so important, its current status and the next steps.
Tomorrow, 7 May, our INT-UQKD project team will be demonstrating a terrestrial quantum communications link at the SnT Partnership Day at the University of Luxembourg. (SnT is the University’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust, one of the project’s partners.)
This follows the first INT-UQKD demo of an operational link late last year via optical fibre between Luxembourg and the European Space Agency’s European Space Security and Education Centre (ESA ESEC) in Redu, Belgium.
These demonstrations are significant because the INT-UQKD project is specifically focussing on providing quantum-safe communications – ensuring that sensitive data is safe against all types of threats, including those predicted to arise when quantum computers are sufficiently mature.
Who is involved in the INT-UQKD project?
The INT-UQKD project is funded through ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) strategic programme line ‘Space Systems for Safety and Security’ (4S), with the involvement of the Singaporean Office for Space Technology & Industry.
Starion is leading the project, which is set up as an international collaboration with partners in Luxembourg (POST Luxembourg, HITEC Luxembourg and SnT), Canada (evolutionQ) and Singapore (SpeQtral).
How will INT-UQKD protect against different kinds of threats?
The concept of using quantum communications to provide safe links has been recognised for a long time. First proposed in the 1970s, quantum key distribution (QKD) came to the fore in the 1980s. It is based on the principles of quantum mechanics, which enables QKD to exchange ‘keys’ in a way that makes it potentially unconditionally secure. Essentially, any attempt to eavesdrop on the key exchange process disrupts the quantum states, alerting the communicating parties to the presence of an intruder.
QKD implementations are essentially secure against classical and quantum attacks but no security system should rely on a single technology to establish its protection. So the approach we are taking with INT-UQKD is to combine QKD with post-quantum cryptography (PQC), which uses very complex mathematical techniques to ward off the threat posed by quantum computers. Exploiting these two fundamentally dissimilar technologies together in a hybrid system avoids any shared vulnerability, providing a truly resilient solution.
How long can these quantum-safe links be?
The INT-UQKD system is designed to provide a global solution.
We have already deployed an international terrestrial link between Luxembourg and Belgium using optical fibre. The next stage is to add a satellite link using SpeQtral satellites in low Earth orbit to create a hybrid space-terrestrial network between Belgium and Singapore via Luxembourg. The plan is to demonstrate this next year.
We are also looking at opportunities to extend the network to other countries. Quantum-safe communications links on a global scale are essential for many sectors, but especially for the operators of NIS2 Essential entities and other regulated sectors that have very strong security requirements.
Find out more
You can find out more about the INT-UQKD project, what the quantum threat is and the current and future system architecture in the INT-UQKD project brochure.
For further information, please contact us.
