O projeto QuantSecure conquistou o 3.º lugar, na 4.ª edição do Prémio IN3+, uma iniciativa de apoio à inovação e investigação nacional estabelecida pela Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, com o Alto-Patrocínio do Presidente da República Portuguesa. The award was presented at a ceremony held at the Casa da Moeda on February 22, with the presence of Elvira Fortunato, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education.

The QuantSecure – authentication with non-clonable quantum photonic identifiers – was developed by Paulo André, full professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (DEEC), Paulo Mateus, full professor at the Department of Mathematics, Emmanuel Zambrini, researcher at the Institute of Telecommunications (IT), and Rute Ferreira, professor at the University of Aveiro.

The concept aims to solve the problem of limited security in authentication procedures for devices, goods or people. To achieve this, it combines high-performance security elements, such as physical unclonable functions (PUFs), with solutions based on quantum properties of light. As a result, the aim is to develop even more secure authentication mechanisms, for example to access devices and objects or user logins. Non-clonable identifiers can be printed on any surface and validated with a smartphone using its camera.

Paulo André, a member of this research team, shares the satisfaction of seeing QuantSecure awarded. “QuantSecure’s design is in line with INCM’s areas of expertise that address contemporary challenges associated with identification and authentication,” he explains. For the DEEC professor, the project offers “an innovative, disruptive and effective approach to a real problem in society”, with emphasis on the fact that the product involves quantum technologies, areas “that are at the limit of the state of knowledge”.