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- New front in cyber threat protection
- Satellites to carry quantum-secured links
- Security based on photon behaviour
Sana Amairi‑Pyka is working at the frontline of a technological shift that could redefine how the world keeps its most sensitive data safe.
As lead scientist for quantum communications at the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), she heads the Abu Dhabi Quantum Optical Ground Station project.
The ambition is to use the laws of quantum physics to help protect private data from future cyber threats, including attacks from quantum computers, and position the UAE as a pioneer in space-based communications.
Traditional computers process information using bits, which represent either a one or a zero. Quantum computers use “qubits” which can represent one and zero simultaneously. This allows them to process data and perform calculations exponentially faster.
Amairi-Pyka is keen to strip away the mystery surrounding her field.
“Quantum isn’t black magic,” she said. “You don’t have to be a quantum physicist to deploy this.”
During a visit to TII’s quantum facilities in Abu Dhabi, AGBI also saw researchers developing superconducting processors and trialling sensors for navigation without GPS.
TII’s quantum communications programme is moving towards commercial deployment. Its researchers have developed quantum key distribution (QKD) devices – used in quantum cryptography – and tested them in a proof-of-concept network in ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s financial hub.
Amairi-Pyka is exploring how to extend quantum-secured links into space. Her team is working on technology that uses satellites to carry signals beyond the reach of terrestrial fibre networks.
The wider aim is to allow governments, banks and other organisations to protect personal data sent over long distances without hackers intercepting it undetected.
From RSA to randomness
Most secure online communications presently use conventional public‑key cryptography (PKC) such as RSA formulas (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman, an encryption algorithm) to establish secure keys and authenticate users.
The underlying data is generally encrypted using faster algorithms.
Its security rests on the assumption that no computer can solve the underlying maths in reasonable time to decrypt the underlying data. But that bet looks less secure with large-scale quantum computers on the horizon.
So-called post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) uses mathematical algorithms designed to resist these quantum attacks.
QKD takes a different route, generating random keys directly from the quantum behaviour of light – the focus of Amairi-Pyka’s research.
Head towards the light
An email, video call or banking transaction still travels over conventional networks. With QKD, the key used to lock and unlock that data is generated using quantum physics.
Amairi-Pyka’s team uses “entangled pairs of light” – photons whose quantum properties are linked – to create keys. Security derives from the behaviour of these particles, rather than the difficulty of solving a mathematical problem.
If an attacker tries to intercept a photon, their action disturbs the particle, producing “errors” that can be detected.
A coordinated national transition towards post-quantum security has already begun in the UAE, including planned deployment across critical public- and private-sector organisations.
The technology is being tested for use by businesses. TII’s ADGM pilot uses quantum-generated keys to secure a private network between the Hub71 tech ecosystem and ADGM Academy, showing how it could protect video calls, file transfers and stored data.
Once quantum devices generate a key, it can be integrated into systems used by banks and telecommunications companies.
On the quantum‑hardware side, TII has signed an agreement with Space42 to develop and deploy the UAE’s first space-to-ground quantum communications network, integrating satellite and ground-based systems.
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Distance remains an obstacle. Fibre-based quantum links work over city-scale areas but encounter physical limits as photon signals weaken. TII’s current system requires “dark fibre” – a dedicated optical link where fragile photons travel without interference.
Satellites could then extend secure connections between cities and eventually continents.
“We’re working on a global network,” Amairi-Pyka said. “If you want to go between countries or continents, that’s why we look at space.”
Her team aims to establish TII’s first quantum-secured link with a satellite by the end of this year.
Why it’s personal
Born and raised in Tunisia, Amairi-Pyka spent more than 13 years building her scientific career in Germany before moving to the UAE in 2021.
She will speak at the Quantum Innovation Summit in Dubai next week, where governments, companies and international vendors will discuss quantum technology’s deployment.
Amairi-Pyka said risks already exist. Attackers could steal encrypted medical records today and use future quantum computers to expose genetic predispositions, mental health histories or family illnesses.
“I always insist on health,” Amairi-Pyka said. “People underestimate just how important their DNA information is.”
Making quantum less cryptic
- Public-key cryptography (PKC): Relies on mathematical problems that powerful quantum computers could eventually solve.
- Post-quantum cryptography (PQC): Uses new mathematical algorithms designed to resist quantum attacks.
- Quantum key distribution (QKD): Uses particles of light to establish keys, revealing attempted interception through detectable errors.
This is the second part of AGBI’s report from TII’s quantum laboratories. Read the first part on the institute’s efforts to build quantum computers and when businesses might be able to put them to work
