Quantum-Safe Communications for Vithas Hospitals
Goals
Future quantum computing will undermine the cryptography used in Internet communications, making possible threats such as storing encrypted information today to decrypt it in the future. In this context, sensitive information like a patient’s medical history, which is confidential for life, is a clear example of data that needs to be protected.
The objective of this project has been to test the technological feasibility of securing sensitive communications between hospitals with Quantum Safe security, immune to attacks by quantum computers. Specifically, the goal is to test, in a real-world scenario with actual hospital use cases, the Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) solution, which is currently the most secure known solution for protecting communications over fiber networks.
Results
Two Vithas hospitals were successfully connected with a quantum fiber link from Telefónica, where QKD encryption keys were distributed, ensuring the impossibility of interception. For this scenario, QKD equipment from LuxQuanta was used, capable of producing continuous-variable quantum signals and transmitting them through the fiber. Leveraging the Quantum Safe solution developed by QoolNet-UPM (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid) for secure and unbreakable key transmission between both hospitals, these keys were utilized by Fortinet’s next-generation firewalls, which ultimately encrypted end-to-end communications, thus guaranteeing absolute confidentiality in communications.
This secure channel has been tested in hospital use cases such as sending medical information or remote patient monitoring, thanks to a collaboration with Prohinsa
Testimonials
At Vithas, we are very aware of the sensitivity of the information we handle about our patients, and we put all our effort into ensuring its confidentiality. Participating in this project in collaboration with Telefónica, LuxQuanta, QoolNet-UPM, and Fortinet to test quantum key distribution technologies has undoubtedly been a step in the right direction to guarantee that patient information remains secure and unaltered, both today and in the future.
