Post-quantum cryptography: six French cyber players join forces to design the secure communication networks of tomorrow

The RESQUE consortium brings together six French companies and organisations with complementary roles in the cybersecurity field: technology leader Thales, the consortium’s coordinator; TheGreenBow, an SME dedicated to software development for secure communication systems; CryptoExperts, an SME specialising in cryptography; the start-up CryptoNext Security; the French information system security agency ANSSI; and Inria, the French national research institute for digital science and technology, which also represents six academic institutions, namely the University of Rennes, ENS (École Normale Supérieure) Rennes, the French national scientific research centre (CNRS), ENS Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay and Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas.

Over the next three years, the RESQUE project (RÉSilience QUantiquE or quantum resilience) will work to develop a post-quantum cryptography solution capable of protecting the communications, infrastructure and networks of businesses and local governments against future attacks carried out using quantum computers. With their vastly increased computing power, quantum processors could break the encryption algorithms that are widely used today, potentially compromising the security of the most sensitive data and representing a threat to national sovereign interests.

The project is funded by the French government as part of the France 2030 investment plan and by the European Union’s Next Generation EU scheme under the France Relance recovery programme, with €6 million of additional financing from Bpifrance. It will focus on two key use cases:

• A hybrid post-quantum virtual private network (VPN) to provide simple, safe and quantum-resistant user access to information systems;
• A high-performance post-quantum hardware security module (HSM) to secure whole systems and for integration with other products.

Within the consortium, TheGreenBow’s expertise in VPN and software development will complement the capabilities of CryptoExperts and CryptoNext Security in encryption and both standard and advanced algorithmic cryptography, with Thales providing leadership in algorithm integration and a holistic vision of the applications ecosystem. ANSSI (a non-financed project partner) will provide a research framework and assess the validity criteria for the use cases, and all partners will benefit from Inria’s fundamental research into post-quantum cryptography.

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies within three domains: Defence & Security, Aeronautics & Space, and Digital Identity & Security. It develops products and solutions that help make the world safer, greener and more inclusive.

The Group invests close to €4 billion a year in Research & Development, particularly in key areas such as quantum technologies, Edge computing, 6G and cybersecurity.

Thales has 77,000¹ ​ employees in 68 countries. In 2022, the Group generated sales of €17.6 billion.

¹ Excluding the Transport business

About CryptoExperts

CryptoExperts SAS is a company founded by internationally recognised industrial and academic researchers in cryptography. Launched in February 2009, the company intends to fill the huge gap that exists between the scientific state of the art and the technology level found in current security products. Through both consulting services and business-driven innovation, we help the security industry benefit from the latest available advances in cryptography to improve their products and services. We bring together cryptography experts with complementary skills and knowledge of the field to offer a unique panel of services ranging from product development to designing new security systems. CryptoExperts’ clients and partners include leading technology companies from around the world.

About CryptoNext Security

CryptoNext, based in Paris, was created in 2019 following more than twenty years of academic research in quantum-resistant cryptography by its founders. CryptoNext Security is a software vendor specialising in quantum computer-resistant cryptography (post-quantum cryptography, or PQC). It offers its Quantum Safe Remediation software suite (C-QSR), whose reference library includes NIST standard Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms as well as the recommendations of the European National Security Agencies, and those related to protocol and certificate hybridization. It also boasts a complete set of integration tools and post-quantum application plugins to support end-user businesses and integrators in their post-quantum migration roadmap for long-term efficiency.

About TheGreenBow

TheGreenBow is a French cybersecurity software company that has been providing reliable VPN solutions since 1998 and whose expertise is founded on secure communications. After becoming the first vendor to achieve Common Criteria EAL3+ certification for its Windows VPN Client—approved for NATO and EU Restricted use in 2013—TheGreenBow is now a key player in the VPN client market and distributes its solutions in more than 70 countries across the world.Since late 2019, TheGreenBow’s Certified Windows VPN Client has carried the label “Used by the French Armed Forces”, indicating that the software has been implemented by services reporting to the French Ministry for the Armed Forces.

About ANSSI

The National Agency for Information Systems Security (ANSSI) was created by executive order on 7 July 2009 as France’s national authority on cybersecurity and cyberdefence. It reports to the Secretary General for Defence and National Security (SGDSN), which in turn is under the authority of the Prime Minister.

About Inria

Inria is the French national research institute for digital science and technology. World-class research, technological innovation and entrepreneurial risk are its DNA. In 220 project teams, most of which are shared with major research universities, more than 3,900 researchers and engineers explore new paths, often in an interdisciplinary manner and in collaboration with industrial partners to meet ambitious challenges. As a technological institute, Inria supports the diversity of innovation pathways: from open source software publishing to the creation of technological start-ups (Deeptech).