Quantum Communication

Critical Infrastructures

Energy supply, transportation, telecommunications, and public infrastructures require secure communication channels to protect essential processes and sensitive data.

Industry and Manufacturing

Connected production systems, industrial control systems, and digital business processes require reliable and secure communication.

Data Centers and Cloud Infrastructures

The protection of sensitive data and communication links is becoming increasingly important due to growing data volumes and new attack scenarios.

Research and Development

Sensitive research data, technological developments, and intellectual property require long-term protection through secure communication infrastructures.

Government and Security-Critical Applications

Organizations with high requirements for data protection and information security benefit from future quantum-secure communication solutions.

Increasing digitalization, AI-driven attack methods, and future quantum computers are creating new challenges for existing security architectures.

The most important risks include:

Harvest Now, Decrypt Later

Data intercepted and stored today could be decrypted in the future using powerful quantum computers. This particularly affects information requiring long-term protection, such as research data, industrial know-how, and critical infrastructure information.

Attacks on Key Exchange

Weaknesses in key exchange processes, compromised certificates, or manipulated supply chains can enable man-in-the-middle attacks and compromise the security of communication connections.

Threats to Conventional Encryption Methods

Cryptographic methods such as RSA and ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) could be weakened by future quantum computers.

Potential consequences include:

• Forged certificates
• Manipulated digital signatures
•  Identity theft
• Compromised communication channels

Weak Key Management

Insufficient generation, storage, and rotation of cryptographic keys, as well as a lack of automation, can create additional security risks.

Lack of Cryptographic Agility

Legacy communication protocols and rigid systems, including older TLS, IPsec, or IoT stacks, can make it difficult to rapidly transition to new security methods.

What is quantum communication?

Quantum communication uses the principles of quantum physics to transmit information securely and enable new security mechanisms for future communication networks.

Why is quantum communication needed?

New cyber threats, AI-driven attack methods, and future quantum computers challenge conventional encryption methods. Quantum communication provides new approaches for long-term secure communication systems.

What is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)?

QKD is a method for securely distributing cryptographic keys using quantum physical principles.

What is Quantum Random Number Generation (QRNG)?

QRNG generates true random numbers based on quantum physical processes and enables highly secure cryptographic applications.

What does “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” mean?

It describes the practice of collecting encrypted data today with the intention of decrypting it in the future when more powerful technologies become available.

Who is researching quantum communication in Europe and Germany?

Quantum communication is being researched across Europe, with a strong focus on QKD, quantum networks, photonic technologies, and QRNG.

In Germany, key research organizations and initiatives include:

1. Fraunhofer IPMS – QKD, QRNG, photonic integration and secure hardware
2. Fraunhofer HHI – QKD systems, photonic components and quantum networks
3. Fraunhofer IOF – QKD, single-photon technologies and optical quantum communication
4. TU Dresden – quantum communication, computing and sensing
5. QuNET / SQuaD – research and networking for secure quantum communication infrastructures

At the European level, the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI) brings together national initiatives to develop a secure quantum communication infrastructure across Europe.

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