SECOQC

Development of a Global Network for Secure Communication based on Quantum Cryptography

Secure communication is an essential need for companies, public institutions and in particular the individual citizen. Currently used encryption systems are vulnerable due to the increasing power of computer technology, the emergence of new code-breaking algorithms, and the imperfections of public key infrastructures. Methods considered as acceptably secure today will have a significant risk of becoming weak tomorrow. On the other hand, with quantum cryptography a technology has been developed within the last decade that is provably secure against arbitrary computing power, and even against quantum computer attacks. When becoming operational quantum cryptography will raise communication security on an essentially higher level. The vision of SECOQC is to provide European citizens, companies and institutions with a tool that allows facing the threats of future interception technologies, thus creating significant advantages for European economy. With SECOQC the basis will be laid for a long-range high security communication network that combines the entirely novel technology of quantum key distribution with components of classical computer science and cryptography. Within the project the following goals will be achieved: - Realisation of a fully functional, real-time, ready-to-market Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) point-to-point communication technology; - Development of an abstract level architecture allowing high security long-range communication by integrating the QKD technology and a set of cryptographic protocols; - Design of a real-life, user-oriented network for practical implementation of QKD based long range secure communication. To achieve this goal, all experience and resources available within the European Research Area are to be integrated and combined with the expertise of developers and companies within the fields of network integration, cryptography, electronics, security, and software development.

30 March 2004

30 September 2008

FP6

Integrating and strenghtening the ERA

IP

2. Information society technologies