The secure network component of Finland’s quantum computer project has taken a significant leap forward in the wake of successful ultra-secure novel encryption technology (NET) tests.

NET supports the quantum computing project’s core mission to strengthen Finland’s national security demands and offer business and industry advanced solutions to protect critical data that is vital to their operational security.

Trials carried out by Telia, the first of


Finland

’s telecom operators to do so, added substantive value to the ongoing National Quantum Computer (NQC) project and the building of the country’s first quantum secure network. In the test run, Telia employed newly developed quantum key distribution (QKD) methods based on quantum mechanics to deliver enhanced-secure communications.

For Telia, the trials, run from the company’s datacentre hub and associate audited network environment facilities, marked the first stage in a multi-phase plan to build a public test network in the


Helsinki

metropolitan area.

“The experiments that we conducted help us to learn what quantum key distribution over the operator network requires. Our role was that of an essential intermediary to make projects developing secure solutions a reality,” said Tero Maaniemi, the lead architect of Telia’s network infrastructure in Finland.

The Finnish NQC project is linked to the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) initiative to build a secure platform covering the whole of the EU by 2030. Launched in 2019 by way of the EuroQCI declaration, and backed by all 27 EU member states, the EuroQCI incorporates open European quantum key distribution, an initiative intended to boost the security of critical applications in important fields such as telecommunications and electricity supply, by offering operational QKD as a highly secure method to facilitate the exchanging of encryption keys.

EU member states like


Finland

are encouraged to run projects to design and build the national quantum communication networks that will form the basis of their terrestrial segment – systems that enable the testing of different technologies and protocols and contribute to shaping the eventual QKD solutions to meet the specific needs of each country.

A consortium, headed by the state-funded technical research institute Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus (VTT), is managing Finland’s quantum secure network National Quantum Communication Infrastructure project. The consortium includes the digital solutions company CSC – IT Centre for Science, the cyber security services group Cinia, and Suomen Erillisverkot, the state-controlled provider of secure technology services.

The NET demonstration gave the infrastructure consortium “hands-on experience” in respect of the features and challenges posed by an operator network as they relate to the implementation of quantum encryption, said Kari Seppänen, project manager and senior scientist at VTT.

“The tests run by Telia is a major step towards building a quantum secure network for


Finland

. It has wider utilisation implications for businesses and other organisations. In real value terms it enables us to evaluate how this new and demanding technology functions in a commercial operator’s network,” Seppänen said.

VTT and CSC are leading players in the QCP project having jointly procured the specialist equipment needed to establish the quantum encrypted QKD communication’s methods and tools, which were subjected to a broad range of laboratory domain tests to appraise their performance in specific critical areas such as data security.

Quantum encryption networks can provide the means to pre-emptively counter the future ability of quantum computers to efficiently break the encryption that is currently used in data communications, said Mikael Johansson, CSC’s head of quantum technologies division.

“The chief technical challenge of the quantum encrypted network is that the equipment is still more or less at the prototype stage rather than fully ready for production environments. The valuable preliminary knowledge gained in Telia’s demonstration shows us how QKD encryption functions outside the test laboratory in


Finland

,” he said.

Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) has emerged as an important pre-emptive method running parallel to QKD that has the ability to resist quantum computing. Methods like PQC are being developed by CSC to replace current encryption algorithms with quantum secure alternatives. The company has installed new PQC connections linking its main datacentres in


Finland

.

“Quantum secure communications with QKD, PQC, or a combination is important for Finland so that we can communicate securely without fear of our current messages being decrypted in the future. Adding quantum encryption for the most important connections can also create new business opportunities since it supports the processing of sensitive information in our datacentres in


Finland

,” said Johansson.

Given that the exchange of encryption keys is based on the transmission of individual photons between the sender and the receiver in quantum encryption, attempts to intrude or eavesdrop can be detected by observing key transfer errors.

In the Telia tests, a higher standard of communications reliability ensured that the keys transmitted using the enhanced security method were not compromised during the transfer. As a result, the keys can be used with existing encryption algorithms to achieve even higher levels of security by combining QKD and PQC. Disposable keys can be created when extreme levels of security are required.

Principal objectives included the gaining of hands-on experience in how to deploy, maintain, and use QKD systems within existing optical networks. Telia also used the tests to apply knowledge acquisition to optimise the integration of the same QKD systems into existing cyber security infrastructure. The knowledge and learning experiences garnered by Telia will be shared with EU member countries through Petrus, the coordination and support action body within the EuroQCI initiative. Petrus is tasked with synchronising the national secure quantum communication infrastructures set to be rolled out across member states over the coming years.

Finland’s quantum computing project has become a focal point to drive new research, development and innovation activity across the country’s microelectronics and quantum technology sectors.  Kvanttinova, one of Finland’s leading industry-driven piloting and research hubs, plans to expand its national reach as a provider of facilities for the development of microelectronics and quantum technology. Formed as a joint venture initiative by VTT, Aalto University, the city of Espoo, and  semiconductor enterprises, Kvanttinova’s primary focus has been on pre-commercial development work, offering companies and project groups a piloting environment to develop and scale up small-volume manufacturing.

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