415 scientists are being trained in Quantum Communication Technologies and Cyber Security, ensuring secure communications for Greece and Europe, today and in the future.

BY Anna Tourtoura
IN Events, News

September 19, 2024
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A two-day Training Event on Quantum Technologies and Cybersecurity, coordinated by GRNET and FORTH

Aiming at training the new generation of engineers in quantum telecommunication technologies and strengthening cybersecurity at national and European level, the training event on: “Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Cyber Security” and two thematic axes EuroQCI Deployment & Cooperation and Quantum Key Distribution Systems and Post-Quantum Cryptography for Cyber Security, on September 4 & 5, 2024 at the premises of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), in Crete.

This event is a direct continuation of the two previous axes Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) Systems and Cybersecurity with QKD Systems and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) that were developed during the four-day training event that took place a year ago at the premises of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA).

The training event was organised by the consortium of the European co-funded project HellasQCI, with the participation of forty (40) speakers from fourteen (14) countries who shared with the audience their specialised knowledge on cutting-edge and rapidly developing quantum technologies. Over four hundred (400) cybersecurity professionals, computer scientists and engineers, as well as students, researchers and academics specialising in the fields of optical and quantum technologies, and representatives of the respective industry, attended the hybrid training event and asked questions to the speakers.

The training event commenced with the addresses of: Athanasios Paliatsos, representative of the General Secretary of Telecommunications and Posts, Konstantinos Karantzalos, Greek Ministry of Digital Governance, Dimitrios Katsianis, Assistant Professor, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Deputy Chairman at GRNET S.A., Nektarios Tavernarakis, Chairman, Board of Directors at FORTH, Dimitris Plexousakis, Vice-Chairman, Board of Directors at FORTH, and Fabiana Da-PIEVE, European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT). The high-level session was moderated by Dr. Ilias Papastamatiou, Senior Project Manager at GRNET, HellasQCI Coordinator.

Amongst the international speakers, the event featured representatives from ten (10) National Infrastructures for Quantum Communications (NatQCIs) including QCI-CAT (Austria), LUX4QCI (Luxembourg), Pionier-Q (Poland), QCI Hungary (Hungary), PRISM (Malta), PTQCI (Portugal), CYQCI (Cyprus), RONAQCI (Romania), EuroQCI SPAIN (Spain) and EstQCI (Estonia), who talked about the challenges faced and solutions applied to enhance cybersecurity, showcasing the excellent cooperation amongst these NatQCIs and the Greek National Communication infrastructure – HellasQCI. Moreover, two important European Quantum-centred projects were presented, Nostradamus and Petrus, which, in turn, contribute to the implementation of the European Quantum Communications Infrastructure (EuroQCI).

During the demo of the Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) network, participants had the opportunity to see a glimpse of the future of secure communications by observing the progress of the HellasQCI testbed on the Athens metropolitan network. The demonstration took place on a complex three-node network, connecting GRNET to the University of Athens at a distance of up to 45 km. Each node was equipped with three layers: the Quantum Layer, the Key Management Layer and the Application Layer, offering integrated encryption solutions. One of the innovations of the demonstration was the hybrid operation of the key management system, which had the ability to manage both quantum keys and classical keys, ensuring uninterrupted security in case of QKD failure. At the same time, the system allowed optimization of QKD resources, requiring fewer pairs of devices to support more nodes. Finally, the demo included QKD devices from different vendors, proving the interoperability and practical application of these technologies.

On the last day of the training event, the participants had the opportunity to visit and enjoy a guided tour of the Skinakas Observatory, a strategic partner of the HellasQCI project. The Skinakas Observatory together with the observatories of Chelmos (Peloponnese) and Cholomontas (Thessaloniki) are being converted into optical ground stations (OGS) for the space part of EuroQCI and HellasQCI provides terrestrial connectivity to the metropolitan network sites – MAN (Heraklion-Crete, Athens and Thessaloniki respectively) via fibre optics and quantum key distribution (QKD) devices.

The event culminated in the realisation that the development of the pan-European EuroQCI initiative, along with the Greek Quantum Communications Infrastructure HellasQCI, will contribute to building secure telecommunications, protecting sensitive data, and safeguarding critical infrastructure. This will ensure a successful and secure transition to tomorrow’s digital technology for the citizens, as well as the public and private enterprises, of Greece and Europe.

From left to right Prof. Hannes Hübel, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Prof. D. Plexousakis, Vice President Board of Directors at FORTH, Director of the Institute of Computer Science, Ass. Prof. D. Katsianis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Deputy Chairman Board of Directors at GRNET, Dr. Ilias Papastamatiou, Senior Project Manager GRNET and Project Coordinator of HellasQCI, Ass. Prof. George Kanellos, Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Technical Coordinator of the HellasQCI Project, Prof. Evangelos Markatos, Department of Computer Science, University of Crete and Head of the Distributed Computing Systems Laboratory (DCS), Institute of Computer Science at FORTH.
"Georgios Lianis" Auditorium at FORTH premises during the presentations of the HellasQCI training event in Crete
Athanasios Paliatsos, representative of the General Secretary of Telecommunications and Posts, Konstantinos Karantzalos, Greek Ministry of Digital Governance addressing the audience
Ass. Prof. D. Katsianis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Deputy Chairman Board of Directors at GRNET addressing the audience.
Nektarios Tavernarakis, Chairman, Board of Directors at FORTH addressing the audience
Prof. Hannes Hübel, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, the keynote speaker at the HellasQCI Training Event in Crete 2024
Dr. Ilias Papastamatiou, GRNET’s Senior Project Manager and HellasQCI coordinator, presents the project’s overview and the synergies with the EuroQCI initiative.
Prof. Evangelos Markatos, Department of Computer Science, University of Crete and Head of the Distributed Computing Systems Laboratory (DCS), Institute of Computer Science at FORTH addressing the audience
Ass. Prof George T. Kanellos, NKUA, HellasQCI Technical Coordinator presents the QKD Architecture: Key Management Layer
Panel with representatives of five (5) National Quantum Communication Infrastructures, namely Sebastian Ramacher, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology representative of QCI-Cat (Austria), Andrea Gorni, ICFO, Technical Coordinator of the EuroQCI-Spain project (Spain), Dr. Junaid ur Rehman, Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg, Lux4QCI (Luxembourg), Piotr Rydlichowski, PSNC Network Operation Center and Project Coordinator of Pionier-Q (Poland), Janos Mohacsi, R&D Officer at Governmental Information-Technology Development Agency (KIFU) and coordinator of QCI Hungary (Hungary), panel moderator Dr. Evangelia Athanasaki, Deputy Head of the European and International Infrastructure Projects Directorate of GRNET.
Panel on "Space: the final Frontier in QKD?" from left to right Wolf von Klitzing, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, K. Katzis, representative of the National Quantum Communication Infrastructure of Cyprus (CYQCI), M. Xylouris, National Observatory of Athens, Ass.Prof. M. Tsiganis, Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Dr. G. Giannoulis, National Technical University of Athens - School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, V. Varelas, Raymetrics S.A., - panel moderator Prof. V. Charmandaris, University of Crete, Director of the Institute of Astrophysics at the Foundation for Research & Technology-Hellas and Director of the Skinakas Observatory.
Presentation of QKD Networks (demo) by the teams of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and GRNET. The demo was presented by the Ass. Prof. G. T Kanellos, Department of Informatics and Telecommunications at the University of Athens, NKUA and Technical Coordinator of the HellasQCI Project.
Speakers, organisers and participants of the HellasQCI training event outside the premises of the Institute of Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH).
From left to right Homer Papadopoulos, R&D Manager at NCSR Demokritos, Petros Papapetropoulos, Project Manager, GRNET, Ass. Prof. G. T Kanellos, Department of Informatics and Telecommunications at the University of Athens, NKUA and Technical Coordinator of the HellasQCI Project, Mr. Ath. Paliatsos, Head of the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Post, Greek Ministry of Digital Governance, Vassilis Charmandaris, University of Crete, Director of the Institute of Astrophysics at the Foundation for Research & Technology-Hellas and Director of the Skinakas Observatory and Dr. Ilias Papastamatiou, GRNET Senior Project Manager and HellasQCI Project Coordinator.
Visit to the Skinakas Observatory, strategic partner of the HellasQCI project, that will be converted into an optical ground station (OGS) for the space segment of EuroQCI.