Indra equips the European Commission cyber risk management center with secure communications prepared to withstand future quantum computer attacks

The first pan-European virtual center for dynamic cyber risk management is being set up by an industry team led by Leonardo and including Indra. It will monitor, in real time, the degree of threat to which digital infrastructures are exposed throughout the continent, tracking the activity of criminal groups on the Internet, dark web and social networks, relying on different databases to extract intelligence. The contract, announced in October 2023, was awarded by the European Commission and Indra is contributing to its implementation by providing key technologies.

The company will equip the center with advanced hybrid protection mechanisms to face the post-quantum scenario, in which the irruption of quantum computing will change the rules of cryptography, forcing the incorporation of new, even more secure algorithms to protect communications.

The centre will be equiped with Indra’s COMSec proprietary technology solution that provides end-to-end encrypted voice, instant messaging and video services over mobile phones and PCs, using any cellular, wireless or satellite network worldwide, that will enable the personnel and managers to hold multiple video conferences and telephone conversations and exchange sensitive information.

Indra’s technology will also protect the conversations and information exchanges within the center itself and cipher the data that are stored in it, preparing it to withstand “harvest now, decrypt later” threats whenever the technology so permits. Moreover, the post-quantum protocol which is used complies with the European NIS (Network and Information Systems Security) regulation and it has been supervised by the Spanish National Cryptologic Center.

The company has also worked on defining the procedure followed by the center’s platforms and systems to exchange data with the outside world and, in the next phase, it will study the way in which the center will coordinate with the network of Cyber Security Operations Centers throughout Spain. All this will help to strengthen the protection of a strategic infrastructure and promote the development of the information and knowledge society in Europe.

Luis J. García de la Iglesia, the deputy director of Indra’s Cyber Defence Unit, highlighted that “we’re proud that the European Union has chosen Leonardo and Indra as partners to implement an important center for the security of the continent such as this one, which will set the bar globally in terms of cybersecurity and intelligence”.

The implementation of the Cyber Analysis Center comes at a particularly difficult time, when risks are increasing due to the geopolitical situation and recent conflicts. The above is leading to disinformation campaigns and cyber attacks on companies and critical infrastructures, in addition to ransomware, phishing and denial-of-service campaigns conducted by criminal organizations.

About Indra

Indra (www.indracompany.com) is one of the leading global defence, aerospace and technology companies, and a world leader in digital transformation and information technologies in Spain and Latin America through its subsidiary, Minsait. Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with high-value approach and a significant innovative component, making it the technological partner for the digitalization and key operations of its clients around the world. Sustainability forms part of its strategy and culture in order to overcome current-day and future social and environmental challenges. In the 2023 fiscal year, Indra achieved revenue totaling €4.343 billion, with more than 57,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in over 140 countries.