Nokia is fighting the harvest-now, decrypt-later threat with a framework for quantum-resilient telecom deployments.

According to Telecoms, British quantum security firm Kets supplied a quantum key distribution (QKD) device to Nokia’s flying kit, referring to a portable demo bundle that in this case is an end-to-end quantum-safe mobile solution from the Finnish giant. The Kets photonic-chip-based system is bundled with Nokia's optical networking kit and generates quantum keys, detects interception, and produces shared secret keys for encryption.

This helps to prevent harvest-now, decrypt-later attacks, where data intercepted in the present could be decrypted in the future once quantum computing becomes readily available. That harvesting threat related to the so-called "Q-day" event, which according to Google will occur in 2029, and has been cited as the impetus for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) solutions from the likes of Orange Business, Citrix, and Fortinet.

Nokia previously released a 50G PON solution last year designed to ensure quantum-safe measures in passive optical networks.

PON is a fiber-optic technology that utilizes a point-to-multipoint infrastructure to transmit data from a centralized source – usually an optical-line terminal (OLT) – to multiple endpoints across optical splitters. While advanced exploration of the tech is not quantum adjacent by nature, Nokia pitched the release as a response to PON networks being increasingly used to deliver internet connectivity to enterprises, demanding secure protection of transmitted data against harvest-now, decrypt-later threats.

“We are pleased to welcome Kets into our quantum-safe partner ecosystem," Carlo Corti, MEA optical networks technical sales leader at Nokia, noted on the Kets integration. "By integrating their QKD hardware into our global ‘flying kit’ demonstration system, we are showing how their technology participates in a holistic, end-to-end solution to provide quantum-safe outcomes.”

“The threat of a quantum computer is not a distant problem, it is a clear and present danger," Kets CEO Lisa Matthews added. "By embedding our hardware into the very fabric of Nokia’s ecosystem, we are proving that quantum-safe security is no longer a laboratory experiment, it is a commercially viable reality that can be deployed across global transport layers today."