Munich 02-Jul-2020

Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity researching next-generation encryption projects

Quantum computers promise to greatly expand the limits of computing efficiency and thus solve problems that today's systems are unable to cope with. At the same time, in the future they could make all wide spread used public key encryption methods obsolete. This is why IT security expert Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity is conducting research today on possible attack scenarios of tomorrow.

In modern information societies, secure communications networks have the status of a critical infrastructure. And cyberattacks are on the increase - affecting business, public institutions and authorities as well as private individuals. Technological advances in the development of quantum computers are opening up new ways of transmitting data. The high-performance computers of the future will probably be able to break our current asymmetric cryptographic procedures and jeopardize secure data traffic. In order to maintain the high security standard in the future, research is currently being conducted on both post-quantum cryptography and quantum key exchange.

To drive research on encryption of the future, IT security expert Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity is making its expertise and experience in building and implementing secure devices and systems available to numerous research projects. The HQS (hardware-based quantum security) project is expected to run until mid-2020. The aim is to develop hardware for quantum cryptography and implement highly secure communications based on it. Communication via optical fibres as well as through the air is being researched. In addition to Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity, the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Light are involved.

Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity is also part of the European OPENQKD project, which aims to strengthen Europe's global position at the forefront of quantum communications capabilities. The aim of the project is the integration of solutions in the European digital landscape on a broad basis and the creation of several open QKD testbeds as well as smaller demonstrators to present network functionality and use cases to potential end users and relevant stakeholders. The development of an innovation ecosystem and a training ground as well as assistance in the development of technology and solution supply chains for quantum communication technologies and services are also part of this major European project.

The QuNET project, launched in November 2019, is building a pilot network for quantum communication in Germany, which will serve to make data transmission tap-proof and tamper-proof. Initially, the network is intended for the communication between federal authorities. Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity is participating in the BMBF-funded project as part of the advisory board alongside the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the Max Planck Society and the German Aerospace Center.

Press & media contact