First quantum communication network segment in Portugal approved for implementation
PTQCI is the name of the national application for the implementation of the first segment of a quantum communication network in Portugal, submitted in March 2022 and recently approved, through a consortium that includes relevant Portuguese organizations in the area of Technology and Security, belonging to the State, Academia and Industry.
The consortium aims to implement — at the national level and under the coordination of Gabinete Nacional de Segurança (Portugal’s National Security Office) in synergy with the company Deimos Engenharia ME — the first ultra-secure quantum communication infrastructure, through terrestrial connections. It also intends to prepare for space connection, using quantum encryption technologies such as Quantum Key Distribution (QKD).
The application in question was approved by the European Commission on July 15, 2022, belonging to a consortium composed of 14 organizations, namely: Gabinete Nacional Segurança (GNS), Deimos Engenharia (DME), IP Telecom PT Altice Labs (ALB), Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), INESC-ID Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Investigação e Desenvolvimento (with Ricardo Chaves coordinating INESC-ID’s participation in this consortium), Adyta (A), Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Warpcom (W), Omnidea, Lda (O), ISEL – Instituto Superior De Engenharia De Lisboa, Instituto Português da Qualidade – IPQ and the Portuguese Quantum Institute (PQI).
This project will run from 2023 to 2026 over a period of 30 months, comprising the following phases:
- 2023- Design of the implementation phases;
- 2024- Standardization and integration of DISCRETION in the infrastructure;
- 2025- Implementation of functional and security tests;
- 2026- Infrastructure implementation phase.
Upcoming Events
Educational Workshop on Responsible AI for Peace and Security (UNODA)
On June 6 and 7, The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) are offering a selected group of technical students the opportunity to join a 2-day educational workshop on Responsible AI for peace and security.
The third workshop in the series will be held in Porto Salvo, Portugal, in collaboration with GAIPS, INESC-ID, and Instituto Superior Técnico. The workshop is open to students affiliated with universities in Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa, Oceania, and Asia.
Date & Time: June 6 a 7
Where: IST – Tagus Park, Porto Salvo
Registration deadline: April 8
Summary: “As with the impacts of Artificial intelligence (AI) on people’s day-to-day lives, the impacts for international peace and security include wide-ranging and significant opportunities and challenges. AI can help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but its dual-use nature means that peaceful applications can also be misused for harmful purposes such as political disinformation, cyberattacks, terrorism, or military operations. Meanwhile, those researching and developing AI in the civilian sector remain too often unaware of the risks that the misuse of civilian AI technology may pose to international peace and security and unsure about the role they can play in addressing them. Against this background, UNODA and SIPRI launched, in 2023, a three-year educational initiative on Promoting Responsible Innovation in AI for Peace and Security. The initiative, which is supported by the Council of the European Union, aims to support greater engagement of the civilian AI community in mitigating the unintended consequences of civilian AI research and innovation for peace and security. As part of that initiative, SIPRI and UNODA are organising a series of capacity building workshops for STEM students (at PhD and Master levels). These workshops aim to provide the opportunity for up-and-coming AI practitioners to work together and with experts to learn about a) how peaceful AI research and innovation may generate risks for international peace and security; b) how they could help prevent or mitigate those risks through responsible research and innovation; c) how they could support the promotion of responsible AI for peace and security.”