Cybersecurity, so Telsy locks up networks with Quantum Key Distribution by Claudio Trezzano

Telsy (Tim group), through Quantum Telecommunications Italy, has experimented with the transmission of information on a beam of photons up to a distance of 110 kilometers.

"There's a lot of talk about quantum computing, super computers, speeds, incredibly high computing capabilities. Few people know the consequences that this can have on encryption keys. With the advent of the quantum computer, most of the traditional encryption keys are inevitably destined to change", is the same Eugenio Santagata, Chief Public Affairs and Security Officer TIM and CEO of Telsy to illustrate the new challenges that the company of the group will have to face for 50 years at the forefront in the design and implementation of solutions dedicated to information security and today therefore specialized in cybersecurity, a pre-eminent front of national interest. In this context , Telsy – which operates within Tim Enterprise, the new business unit of the Group led by Elio Schiavo – uses the technology known as Quantum Key Distribution which, by exploiting the principles of quantum mechanics, is able to armor the transmission of digital data. In short, the advance of the tools exploited by hackers, terrorist groups and anything else to carry out their computer intrusions is, in short, possible to contrast the properties of the quantum system, exploiting the sophisticated computing capabilities, to immediately detect interceptions (eavesdropper ), classical and quantum and increase current levels of security and encryption of digital communications. All this by processing thousands if not millions or billions of pieces of information at the same time. And as technology continues to evolve, Telsy is also developing new next-generation quantum cryptographic solutions (such as Post Quantum Cryptography) to counter next-generation cyber threats. Everything revolves around Telsy's Quantum Key Distribution, already implementable on fiber optic networks at national level, currently one of the last frontiers of cybersecurity since it uses symmetric encryption keys in the transmission of complex information through light signals, so-called photons, which 'transport' data in fiber optic cables. "Quantum Key Distribution is not just a tool, an algorithm, or a component: it is a system that integrates all this, which requires specific skills and high professionalism", explains Santagata. Tesly's operating arm on this front is represented by Quantum Telecommunications Italy (QTI), active in the field of quantum communications on optical fiber and emerging technologies. The startup was established in the middle of the pandemic, in October 2020, as a spin-off of the National Research Council (CNR) within the National Institute of Optics of Florence (INO) and has already achieved promising results. The company, which provides industrial systems and products for quantum networks, with totally made in Italy solutions, designed and developed with proprietary skills, using a European supply chain, participated in the first demonstration of international intergovernmental quantum communication, which connected three European countries, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, during the G20 in September 2021. "Telsy and QTI have successfully experimented with transmitting information over a beam of photons up to a distance of 110 kilometers. This is the most advanced project in Italy and among the most advanced in Europe, which sees the TIM Group as a pioneer in this field", continues the company's CEO. In short, "Quantum Key Distribution is fully part of the next-generation encryption solutions that we offer to our customers and that are flanked by new instant messaging apps, a secure videoconferencing system , phones that aim to minimize the impact of possible cyber attacks, in addition to the most classic line of ciphers and landlines with more specific government use", concludes Santagata.