Técnico stood on the podium at the 4th edition of the IN3+ Award, an initiative established by the Portuguese Mint and Official Printing Office (INCM), with the High Patronage of the President of the Portuguese Republic, to support innovation and national research. Developed by Técnico professors and researchers, the QuantSecure project won 3rd place. The award ceremony took place at the INMC, on February 22, attended by Elvira Fortunato, the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education.

“QuantSecure – Authentication with non-clonable quantum photonic identifiers” was developed by Paulo André and Paulo Mateus, full professors at Técnico, Emmanuel Zambrini, a researcher at Instituto de Telecomunicações (IT) – a Técnico’s affiliated research unit – and Rute Ferreira, a professor at the University of Aveiro.

The project aims to solve the problem of limited security existing in the procedures used to authenticate devices, objects, or users, combining high-performance security elements, such as non-clonable physical functions – PUFs, with solutions innovative solutions based on the quantum properties of light. As a result, the aim is to develop even more secure authentication mechanisms, for example for accessing devices and objects or user login. The non-clonable quantum photonic identifiers can be printed on any surface and validated with a smartphone camera.

Paulo André shares his satisfaction in seeing QuantSecure awarded. “The design of QuantSecure is in line with INCM’s areas of activity that address the contemporary challenges associated with identification and authentication”, he explains. According to the Técnico professor, the project offers “an innovative, disruptive and effective approach to a real problem in society”, emphasising that the product involves quantum technologies”, a field that is at the limits of knowledge”.