Italian telecommunications company Sparkle and European satellite operator Hellas Sat have launched a quantum-resistant satellite connection between Greece and Cyprus. This is the first such channel between the two countries, according to the press release.
The connection is established between Sparkle’s data center in Athens and Hellas Sat’s infrastructure in Cyprus via an existing satellite channel. The total length of this route from Cyprus to Greece is approximately 72,000 km.
The Quantum Safe Interconnect (QSI) solution is used for protection, ensuring quantum-resistant key delivery and automatic rotation in an IPsec-based connection. This aims to safeguard the conventional satellite connection from future attacks using quantum computers.
In March, the companies tested QSI between two data centers in Greece. The next step was to test the technology in satellite infrastructure.
Now, Sparkle and Hellas Sat plan to assess the potential for commercial deployment of quantum-resistant satellite services for corporate clients with distributed, remote, and critical facilities.
In July, the International Organization for Standardization included the post-quantum algorithm Classic McEliece in the asymmetric encryption standard.
