Cyber protection with quantum power - how it works!
science talk with
with Dr Christian Deppe, TU Braunschweig | Institute for Communications Engineering
Opportunities through quantum technologies.
In an increasingly digitalised world in which information technology systems are used in critical infrastructures such as energy supply, healthcare or state communication networks, the topic of IT security is becoming increasingly important. At the same time, cyber attacks and threat scenarios are increasing at an alarming rate. Conventional cryptographic methods are reaching their limits - especially in view of the rapid developments in the field of quantum computers. Dr Christian Deppe's lecture is dedicated to precisely this area of tension between the growing threat situation and the new technological possibilities offered by quantum technologies.
Initiatives.
Dr Deppe shows how powerful quantum computers fundamentally challenge existing encryption standards. The so-called Shor algorithm, for example, is considered a potential threat to many of the methods used today for secure data transmission. However, this risk also presents an opportunity, as quantum technologies also offer completely new possibilities for physically securing cyber security. Quantum communication opens up paths to tap-proof transmissions that are not based on mathematical complexity, but on the principles of quantum physics. Numerous initiatives are currently being funded in Germany and Europe that are focussing on the development of quantum repeaters, the foundations of a quantum internet and the testing of innovative communication protocols.
In his presentation, Dr Deppe will provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research in quantum-based IT security. He will highlight both applications that can be realised in the short term, such as those already being tested in pilot projects, as well as long-term perspectives aimed at the comprehensive, secure networking of entire regions up to European level. Not only technical aspects will be discussed, but also security policy and social issues associated with the introduction of these disruptive technologies.
The science talk is a cooperation with Volkswagen Group and will be broadcast in hybrid form in presence and as a YouTube livestream to make it accessible to a wider interested audience outside the region.
on Thursday, the 24.07.2025
at 18:30, admission 18:15
in the phaeno Science Theatre
Admission is free. Registration is not required.
Dr Christian Deppe
Dr Christian Deppe has been working at the Institute of Communications Engineering at the Technical University of Braunschweig since the beginning of 2024. He previously worked for six years at the Chair of Communications Engineering at the Technical University of Munich. He studied mathematics at the University of Bielefeld, where he completed his diploma in 1996 and his doctorate in 1998. After completing his doctorate, he worked there as a research associate and assistant until 2010. From 2011 to 2013, he headed the project "Safety and Robustness of the Quantum Repeater" funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. He then worked on a DFG project at the Chair of Theoretical Information Technology at the Technical University of Munich. This was followed by a deputy professorship at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in 2015. Dr Deppe is currently responsible for several research projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space and the German Research Foundation. He specialises in quantum communication, molecular communication and post-Shannon theory, an extended approach to information theory.
