Italian telecommunications firm Sparkle, alongside European satellite operator Hellas Sat, has established a quantum-resistant satellite connection between Greece and Cyprus. This marks the first such link between the two nations, as noted in a recent press release.
The connection links Sparkle's data center in Athens with Hellas Sat's infrastructure in Cyprus via an operational satellite channel. The total distance of this route from Cyprus to Greece is approximately 72,000 kilometers.
To ensure security, the Quantum Safe Interconnect (QSI) solution is employed, which facilitates quantum-resistant key delivery and automatic key rotation over an IPsec-based connection. This technology aims to safeguard conventional satellite communications from potential future threats posed by quantum computing.
In March, the companies successfully tested QSI between two data centers in Greece, with plans for the next phase to evaluate the technology within satellite infrastructure.
Now, Sparkle and Hellas Sat are looking to assess the feasibility of launching commercial quantum-resistant satellite services aimed at corporate clients with distributed, remote, and critical operations.
Additionally, it is noteworthy that in July, the International Organization for Standardization incorporated the post-quantum algorithm Classic McEliece into its asymmetric encryption standard.