Introduction
Objectives of the chair
The Quantum Impact in Cybersecurity (IQC) Chair aims to strengthen the teaching of quantum technologies and their impact on cybersecurity at EPITA, particularly through the ‘BuildSec’, ‘Computer Science and Quantum Technologies’, ‘Networks – Telecoms’, and ‘Systems, Networks and Security’ specialisations. The IQC Chair seeks to develop high-impact research in post-quantum cryptography and to foster research into quantum software development, in collaboration with industrial partners and, more broadly, with stakeholders from the socio-economic sector
The Chair’s Environment
EPITA is an engineering school that prepares its students for careers as computer engineers in the fields of development, information systems architecture, artificial intelligence, networks, quantum computing, cybersecurity, embedded computing and innovation. EPITA has established a partnership policy to increase the presence and visibility of its partners amongst students, as well as research and teaching chairs, through which companies provide material resources and human resources to contribute to the training of students, facilitate the transfer of knowledge and promote research.
‘BuildSec’ specialisation This is a new major at EPITA, the aim of which is to train engineers capable of designing, securing and developing the digital infrastructures of the future. It adopts a DevSecOps approach, embedding security right from the design stage of systems, by combining defence and attack strategies. This programme is firmly rooted in the cyber ecosystem of Rennes, with the support of industry professionals and real-world projects. Students develop skills in advanced cybersecurity, sovereign cloud computing, AI applied to security, and post-quantum cryptography.
Specialisation in ‘Computer Science and Quantum Technologies’. Convinced that quantum technologies will transform a wide variety of sectors, EPITA had been offering a minor in Quantum Technologies for several years. In 2023, it decided to expand its provision in this field by creating a major with the aim of training the pioneers who will develop software infrastructures of a radically new kind. Within this major, students can acquire a comprehensive mastery of quantum technologies and architectures. This course lasts 12 months and is complemented by a 6-month end-of-study placement. The major’s programme is one of the most ambitious in Europe: more than 20 companies contribute to it, covering 650 hours of quantum teaching, to which are added 200 hours of core curriculum.
Future engineers study the main quantum computer architectures (including, amongst others, Pasqal, Quandela, C12, Quobly and Alice&Bob). They learn about the main quantum algorithms and their implementations using Q#, Qiskit and Python, drawing on a range of emulators, including those from IBM, Microsoft, Classiq, ColibriTD, Eviden and Qperfect. They study classical cryptography, post-quantum cryptography and quantum cryptography, including the distribution of quantum keys, with input from leading companies in the field such as VeriQloud, WelinQ and IDQ. Quantum sensors also play a significant role within the degree programme’s curriculum, thanks to contributions from Thales and SandboxAQ.
‘Networks – Telecoms’ specialisation. This long-standing specialisation at EPITA is dedicated to the field of telecommunications and network infrastructure. It trains engineers capable of addressing both the technical and economic challenges of new forms of communication (fixed, mobile, satellite), networks of all scales, and the associated security issues. These infrastructures enable the instantaneous exchange of information on a global scale, radically transforming the ways in which we communicate, work and live. Issues surrounding data sovereignty are at the heart of the specialisation, and post-quantum cryptography is gradually taking on a prominent role within it.
‘Systems, Networks and Security’ specialisation. As one of the school’s long-standing specialisations in the field of cybersecurity since 2005, EPITA has invested heavily in the curriculum and partnerships over the past 20 years. Like the other specialisations, this programme lasts 12 months and is complemented by a 6-month end-of-study placement. It aims to train engineers with a solid foundation in the infrastructure, development and management of information systems (IS) for sensitive environments, such as civil and military administrations, operators of critical infrastructure, providers of essential services, environments concerned with sovereignty, or those subject to cybersecurity regulations and standards. Convinced that quantum technologies will revolutionise information systems and cybersecurity (particularly the protection of classified information), we must prepare our students for the challenges ahead, helping them to understand the issues at stake and the fundamentals required to support this transformation. Post-quantum cryptography will, in fact, be a priority area of focus over the period 2025–2030 for these future graduates.
EPITA Research Laboratory (LRE). Established on 1 September 2022, the LRE is the result of the merger of the EPITA Research and Development Laboratory (LRDE) and the EPITA Systems Laboratory (LSE). The LRE is organised into five research teams spread across the Paris, Lyon, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse sites. It currently has 42 academic researchers and continues to expand, focusing its activities on five main areas:
- Security and systems. Research into software and hardware vulnerabilities to improve system security and build a trustworthy digital society. Since 2024, this research area has been developing work in post-quantum cryptography, which the Chair will further strengthen.
- Automata and applications. Development of formal methods for the validation and generation of parallel software models and the design of automated systems.
- Artificial Intelligence. Development of effective models for emotion detection, recommendation systems and the identification of participants in a dialogue.
- Numerical methods for the humanities and social sciences. The use of artificial intelligence and natural language processing technologies to study contemporary societal issues.
- Image processing and pattern recognition. Design of algorithms for automatic image processing in fields such as underwater robotics, space and medical imaging, and document digitisation.
IQC Chair Programme
The IQC Chair has been established to stimulate research activities at the intersection of cryptography and quantum technologies within LRE, to establish a continuum with the teaching programmes at EPITA and to strengthen synergies, particularly through the degree programmes associated with the Chair, and, more broadly, to contribute to the development of an ecosystem around these themes.
The Chair’s central research theme is quantum-resistant cryptography, encompassing both highly industry-oriented issues and more theoretical aspects related to quantum algorithms and the assessment of the security of post-quantum cryptography. The need for an accurate assessment of the resources required for these algorithms has led to the introduction of a research strand focused on quantum software engineering, which goes further to meet the need to train EPITA engineers to create quantum software solutions for industry.
The Chair will be run through a multidisciplinary seminar open to a wide audience, including students, industry professionals and academics, as well as an experimental laboratory to support research and teaching.
Scientific Aspects
Quantum-resistant cryptography
Public-key cryptography, used daily by billions of users, is at the heart of securing digital infrastructure. The security of public-key cryptography as implemented today—such as RSA or Diffie-Hellman— relies on the inability of classical computers to efficiently solve two mathematical problems from number theory: the factorization of large integers into prime factors and the computation of discrete logarithms in a cyclic group. Since Peter Shor’s results in the late 1990s, we have known that these two problems can be solved efficiently— that is, in polynomial time—on a high-capacity quantum computer, rendering current security measures obsolete.
A new generation of cryptography, collectively known as “ quantum-resistant cryptography,” offers two complementary approaches to protect against quantum threats. The first, quantum cryptography (Bennett and Brassard 1984) — which includes quantum key distribution (QKD) — —exploits the very same properties of quantum physics that make the quantum computer both powerful and dangerous, in order to guarantee unconditional security. This provides a very strong security guarantee. However, QKD has significant practical limitations, notably the need for a specific network infrastructure.
The second approach, post-quantum cryptography (PQC), is based on new mathematical problems that are believed to be resistant to quantum computers. Post-quantum cryptography, the main focus of this Chair’s research, has evolved from a primarily academic field into a major strategic sector with the emergence of a dedicated industry. This evolution is primarily driven by the post-quantum standardization process initiated in 2015 by NIST and set to be finalized in 2025. The establishment of the first post-quantum standards marks the launch of the large-scale deployment of this new cryptography. The Chair aims to address the main scientific and technical challenges associated with this deployment. Three main research areas have been defined:
Post-quantum cryptanalysis. The adoption of post-quantum cryptography requires users to have confidence in the security of the new standards. The first research area aims to strengthen this confidence by continuing efforts to analyze the major, intractable problems in post-quantum cryptography. Cryptanalysis of symmetric ciphers, which are also post-quantum, will be addressed in this area. The goal here is to develop the use of algebraic cryptanalysis and statistical techniques to evaluate the security of primitives and, for example, to combine them with quantum algorithms.
Advanced and Fully Hybrid Post-Quantum Cryptography. The definition of NIST’s post-quantum standards represents a crucial—albeit intermediate—step in the standardization cycle of post-quantum cryptography, which will continue to intensify in the coming years. The objective of this research area is twofold:
On the one hand, to propose new post-quantum algorithms with advanced properties for standardization. Typically, the threshold post-quantum signature, which is currently undergoing a new standardization process by NIST, is an illustrative example of the work envisaged in this research area.
On the other hand, to develop new fully hybrid protocols combining classical and post-quantum cryptography, as well as QKD. This is a central topic in the deployment of the European communications network EuroQCI1.
Post-quantum cryptography for industry. This research area focuses on issues related to the practical deployment of post-quantum cryptography. This includes, in particular, the design of software tools for the automatic inventory of cryptographic assets, as well as the integration and performance testing of post-quantum cryptography in major security protocols, such as TLS, X.509, DNSSEC, etc.
Quantum Software Engineering
The IQC Chair aims to contribute to the development of the field of quantum software engineering.
This new discipline covers the entire process of creating quantum software and encompasses algorithms, analysis of the conditions required to achieve a quantum advantage, resource estimates, quantum code emulation, benchmarking, debugging, the classical component of quantum algorithms (including classical machine learning , GPUs, and HPC), compilation, optimization, the integration of error-correction building blocks, certification and verification, as well as distributed quantum computing. This is a cross-disciplinary and integrative field combining quantum algorithms, new software building blocks for quantum computing, and existing best practices in quantum computing.
In particular, resource estimates will focus on their relationship to computation time, the necessary hardware resources, and the energy footprint of quantum computing. A major research focus will be on optimization methods associated with these various constraints, enabling the integration of knowledge about both the software and hardware components of the solutions.
This branch of the IQC Chair aims to complement the security analysis of post-quantum cryptography with an analysis of the resources required, as well as to enable research engineers to advance the discipline of quantum software engineering and to enable EPITA engineers to become cross-functional project managers for developing quantum software solutions in industry.
Education
The mission of the IQC Chair is to develop and strengthen the teaching of quantum technologies for engineers at EPITA, particularly through the major programs. Four main areas of focus have been defined:
Strengthen ties between research, education, and industry.
Oversee the curriculum to ensure it is continually adapted to the needs of stakeholders in cybersecurity, quantum computing, quantum communications, and quantum sensors.
Contribute to the development of new talent to accelerate the adoption of post-quantum cryptography, quantum computing, and, more broadly, quantum technologies.
Strengthen the role of software development in quantum computing.
Specialisations “BuildSec,” “Systems, Networks, and Security,” and “Networks—Telecom”
Students in these majors must be prepared for the challenges posed by the quantum threat and must understand the issues and fundamentals involved in order to support this transformation. In particular, post-quantum cryptography will be a priority area of focus during the 2025–2030 period for these future graduates. The goal of the IQC Chair is to offer new courses to these students to prepare them to meet the challenges of transitioning our infrastructure to post-quantum cryptography.
“Computer Science and Quantum Technologies” Specialisation
It is essential that the curriculum meet the needs of industry by regularly adapting programs in consultation with the partners of the IQC Chair. The curriculum for the “Computer Science and Quantum Technologies” major was created in partnership with industry leaders to train engineers who are ready to immediately join companies in the French, European, and international quantum ecosystem.
The major is first and foremost an extension of EPITA’s engineering program but also offers external students— whether domestic or international—the opportunity to join it as long as they have mastered the prerequisites in software development.
The establishment of dual degree programs is under consideration with French and international academic partners, with the goal of enriching the major’s curriculum and offering more opportunities to students (Ph.D., international opportunities, specializations, etc.).
The possibility of launching an online program is being considered to address segments not covered by the major. This remains to be structured in collaboration with the partners of the IQC Chair.
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IQC Experimental Laboratory. The IQC Chair will establish a hybrid quantum and post-quantum communication platform (hardware encryption modules, HSMs, QRNGs, quantum key distribution devices, etc.). The purpose of this lab is to illustrate the coursework related to the Chair, to be used by students in the major programs, and to support research activities.
Multidisciplinary Seminar. The IQC Chair will also serve as a forum for reflection on the strategic challenges of quantum technologies in cybersecurity. The Chair will host a multidisciplinary seminar, alternating between the Kremlin-Bicêtre site and the Cyber Campus, which will combine discussions on scientific aspects, innovation, standardization, regulation, and the strategic challenges of the field.