Telefónica, alongside Vithas and tech partners, LuxQuanta and QoolNet, has successfully established a quantum fiber optic link connecting two hospitals in the Community of Madrid.
For this project, Telefónica used two of its Madrid exchanges to establish the quantum link between Vithas Madrid Arturo Soria University Hospital and Vithas Madrid La Milagrosa Hospital. LuxQuanta’s NOVA LQ® QKD equipment and quantum-safe solutions from QoolNet-UPM ensured the secure transfer of quantum keys between the hospitals.
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These keys were then used to encrypt communication via Fortinet’s firewalls. The secure network enabled the hospitals to transmit medical information, facilitate teleconsultations, and remotely monitor patients.
This collaboration highlights the potential of quantum-safe communication, ensuring that sensitive healthcare data is safeguarded from future quantum computing threats. The initiative showcases how quantum key distribution (QKD) can protect data, making it immune to attacks from advanced quantum computers. Unlike conventional encryption methods based on algorithms vulnerable to attacks, QKD relies on the unbreakable principles of quantum physics to secure communications.
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As quantum computing advances, it promises breakthroughs in medicine and research, but it also presents risks as it holds the potential to compromise current encryption methods. Malicious actors are already exploiting a strategy known as “Store Now, Decrypt Later” (SNDL), which poses a serious threat. Telefónica has invested over a decade in developing quantum-safe solutions on Europe’s most advanced quantum network infrastructures,
