Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) has emerged as a powerful solution for securing digital communications in the era of quantum computing. QKD takes advantage of the laws of quantum mechanics to ensure that an eavesdropper cannot infer any bits of information during the generation of encryption keys that are used to secure private communications.

An international team of researchers from Leibniz University Hannover (Germany) and the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow (United Kingdom) has disproved a previously held assumption about the impact of multiphoton components in interference effects of thermal fields (e.g., sunlight) and parametric single photons (generated in non-linear crystals).

Europe is giving the go-ahead for the next technological leap for secure digitalization. The European Commission has commissioned a consortium (“Nostradamus”) led by Deutsche Telekom to build the testing infrastructure for quantum key distribution (QKD). This will enable the evaluation of European manufacturers’ QKD devices. Partners in the consortium are Thales, global leader in advanced technologies, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, as well as experts from across industry and academia. This paves the way for the implementation of EuroQCI – a highly secure pan-European communication network based on quantum technology. The governments of all EU member states and their citizens stand to benefit from more secure critical infrastructure.