Quantum technology will facilitate a revolution in sectors such as medicine, pharmacology, information security and communications. More specifically, quantum computers are destined to change everything, including the encryption standards that we use today to protect our networks.
Many of today’s encryption methods will become obsolete. For this reason, although our networks are absolutely secure at the moment, it’s vital to start developing them to adapt them to this new state of affairs. Moreover, as of today there’s a latent threat related to these future computers known as store-now-decrypt-later. This means that there are cybercriminals who are stealing encrypted data in order to decrypt them when the first quantum computer capable of breaking the current encryption methods appears. Therefore, any company with long-standing confidential data may be exposed to having its sensitive information decrypted within a few years, thus compromising them.
Within this context, Telefónica is presenting Quantum-Safe Networks, an innovative solution designed to help companies to protect their critical communications and data from today onwards and prepare them for the quantum future.
How are we doing it?
Our networks
We’re developing the current security of our networks, adding an extra layer of security with quantum-safe technology andcombining traditional and post-quantum cryptography.
Our customers
We’re helping companies to reinforce the security of their communications and data to protect them from the store-now-decrypt-later threat, reducing the risk of their sensitive information being captured today to be decrypted with a quantum computer when this becomes possible. This solution is easy to integrate, enabling customers to focus on their businesses while protecting their critical information.
Our technology
We’re integrating state-of-the-art security, encrypting critical information by means of post-quantum algorithms standardised by the NIST, the US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. As quantum computing technology moves forward, new standards for secure cryptography and new regulations for security protocols will continue to appear. Our methodology incorporates crypto-agility to ensure adaptation to any evolution of the standards and quantum computing, thus increasing the resilience of the solution.
Our solutions
Network
We’re increasing the current security of our networks, adding an extra level of protection for the transmission of sensitive data via private 5G networks. We provide quantum-safeprotection wherever the customer needs it, even out at sea. For example, in partnership with Subsea Mechatronics and XRF, we’re working on the integration of post-quantum encryption solutions into critical services such as subsea infrastructure control, thereby providing an advanced level of security and low latency.
Services
We’re integrating post-quantum encryption into security-critical environments for communication between IoT devices in sectors such as mining, healthcare and industry. For example, we’re working alongside Halotech and Quside to implement this advanced protection on Telefónica Tech’s Kite platform. In addition to protecting sensitive information, we’re optimising the operational performance in what are known as “tactical operation bubbles”, in which the safety of the operators and agents is a priority.
Utilities
Utilities manage critical gas, water and electricity infrastructures, in which the connectivity of their sensors and actuators plays a key role in efficient service management. It’s vital to protect this connectivity by using Quantum-Safe certificates and digital signatures in the provisioning and deployment of operators’ eSIM profiles in order to prevent malicious control of these devices.
Utilities also collect data from households via their connected devices, including electricity, water and gas meters. We’re enhancing the protection of sensitive data by adding quantum-safe certificates to the eSIMs of these devices. For example, we’re working in partnership with Idemia to reinforce the encryption for the transmission of information between the device and the network.