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Security and privacy in communication networks have been the subject of intense research over the last years.
Because nowadays our digital data is continuously being stored and processed by different companies and entities, developing protocols and services that protect our privacy independent of future available computational power is a major step in our digital society. In this context, Secure Multiparty Computation (SMC) - a sub-field of cryptography, appears as a natural solution for data security and privacy. Nevertheless, when based on fully classical protocols, SMC does not guarantee security and privacy against attacks performed using quantum computers.
To solve these problems, the project Q.DOT - Quantum Distribution Oblivious Transfer contributes to the creation of new technologies for security and privacy, with a main focus on vehicular networks. This project implements an SMC service for vehicular networks, that allows the collection of data from the vehicles that cross a bridge preserving the vehicle's privacy.
Q.DOT explores a new generation of cryptographic technologies, based on the realization of high-speed quantum-enabled oblivious transfer (OT) cryptographic primitive for the statistical analysis of private databases - Privacy Preserving Data Mining (PPDM). Overall, the project increases the generation rates of OT keys and integrates them into a distribution system and a new platform for PPDM.
The use of quantum technology to generate OT keys, knowledge conferred to the consortium through cutting-edge research carried out by the Instituto de Telecomunicações, which allows the achievement of generation ratios of these OT keys that enable a practical application of this technology. Furthermore, the IT enabled the consortium with the necessary knowledge to validate the security of the final solution presented and, therefore, the confidentiality of the information processed.
In balance, Q.DOT project obtained a laboratory prototype, under the responsibility of the IT, of a system that integrates the solution for the generation and distribution of quantum keys and that demonstrates its capacity in terms of efficiency and security, and an industrial prototype under the responsibility of CapGemini Engineering.
Q.DOT was developed at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT), namely by the Quantum Communications Group of IT Aveiro (https://www.it.pt/OQCT-Av), Quantum Information and Security Group of IT Lisbon (https://www.it.pt/SQI - Lx), and, Capgemini Engineering.
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