Q*Bird launches the Falqon® Key Manager to enable scalable quantum secure networks
This is a press announcement from Q*Bird.
Q*Bird today announced the launch of the Falqon® Key Manager, a standalone quantum key management system designed to enable scalable, interoperable and hybrid quantum secure networks.
As organisations prepare for the quantum era, the challenge is no longer limited to generating quantum secure cryptographic keys. While Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) has emerged as one of the most promising technologies for securing sensitive communications, organisations are increasingly focused on how to operationalise and scale quantum secure communications across distributed infrastructures. Quantum secure migration initiatives are accelerating globally, driven by emerging national and international cybersecurity strategies and growing requirements for quantum security across government, critical infrastructure and highly regulated environments.
Government agencies, defence organisations, telecom operators and critical infrastructure providers require secure communications across diverse operational environments. These environments include cloud, operational technology networks, remote facilities, edge locations and distributed infrastructure environments.
While Q*Bird's scalable MDI-QKD (Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution) architectures provide the foundation for securing mission-critical communications and multipoint-to-multipoint quantum secure networks, organisations may also operate across environments where direct QKD deployment is not always practical or available, including cloud environments and third-party infrastructures.
As quantum secure communication infrastructures scale across multiple sites and network environments, organisations require the ability to securely manage, distribute and deliver Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) keys, Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) keys and hybrid keys across distributed infrastructures. This requires an operational key management layer capable of bridging QKD and non-QKD environments while delivering crypto agility, resilience, and scalable hybrid quantum secure networking.
From quantum links to quantum secure networks
The Falqon® Key Manager is a standalone Quantum Key Management System (QKMS) designed to enable scalable, interoperable and hybrid quantum secure network deployments. By combining QKD, PQC and PKI-based key distribution methods within a unified key management architecture, the Falqon® Key Manager natively supports the delivery of QKD keys, PQC keys and hybrid keys across distributed network infrastructures. This enables organisations to build resilient quantum secure communication infrastructures that leverage both quantum and classical quantum-resistant technologies.
Acting as the secure layer between key generation technologies and consuming applications, the Falqon® Key Manager enables organisations to securely ingest, store, synchronise and deliver cryptographic keys across distributed infrastructures. It bridges QKD and non-QKD environments, extends quantum secure network beyond QKD-enabled locations and enables hybrid key deployments, trusted-node architectures, the interconnection of distributed quantum secure infrastructures and the integration of multiple QKD domains within a unified key management architecture. It provides secure key lifecycle management across applications, encryptors and network environments, enabling the operationalisation of quantum secure network at scale.
“QKD and PQC are not competing technologies. They solve different problems and will increasingly operate together. Organisations need a secure way to combine these technologies within a unified architecture while securely managing cryptographic keys across distributed infrastructures. That capability becomes increasingly important as quantum secure networks scale. That is exactly what the Falqon® Key Manager is designed to do,” said Dr. Joshua Slater, CTO at Q*Bird.
Enabling hybrid quantum secure networking
The Falqon® Key Manager is designed to address evolving integration requirements across quantum networking ecosystems, reducing operational complexity associated with fragmented key infrastructures, duplicated integrations and vendor lock-in. It delivers a standards-based and multi-vendor environment while enabling organisations to evolve their quantum secure infrastructure over time.
Dr. Joshua Slater, CTO at Q*Bird added, “The industry has spent years proving that QKD works. The next challenge is scale. Organisations need to secure cloud environments, edge locations, operational technology networks and critical infrastructure sites where QKD cannot always be deployed directly. At the same time, they need to combine QKD, Post-Quantum Cryptography and PKI-based key distribution methods within a crypto-agile and resilient operational architecture.”
Advancing Q*Bird’s vision for quantum secure infrastructure
The launch represents an important milestone in Q*Bird’s broader vision of delivering the infrastructure required for scalable quantum secure communications. The Falqon® Key Manager expands Q*Bird’s portfolio beyond quantum key generation and network orchestration by introducing the standalone operational key management layer required for scalable hybrid quantum secure networks.
“As organisations move from pilot deployments towards operational quantum secure networks, they require more than key generation technologies. They need infrastructure that can securely manage cryptographic keys across distributed environments, support hybrid deployments, enable crypto agility and resilience and scale across entire organisations. The Falqon® Key Manager provides that foundation,” shares Dr. Ingrid Romijn, CEO and Co-Founder at Q*Bird.
The launch reflects a broader industry shift where operational deployment, interoperability and scalability across diverse network environments have become key requirements for quantum secure networking.
“Government, defence, telecom and critical infrastructure operators are already preparing for the transition to quantum secure communications. The challenge is no longer whether quantum secure communications are possible, but how to deploy them at scale. The Falqon® Key Manager accelerate that transition by enabling scalable hybrid quantum secure networks across distributed infrastructures,” shares Dr. Ingrid Romijn, CEO and Co-Founder at Q*Bird.
Built for security-critical environments
The Falqon® Key Manager is designed for security sensitive environments, including government, defence, telecom and critical infrastructure deployments. Security sensitive deployments often require flexible deployment models aligned with operational, compliance and infrastructure requirements. The Falqon® Key Manager can be deployed within Q*Bird’s QKD Nodes, as a separate on-premise KMS device, on customer-provided on-premise servers, or within customer-provided cloud environments.
“Organisations require the flexibility to deploy quantum secure infrastructure in a manner aligned with their operational and security requirements. The Falqon® Key Manager was designed to provide secure key lifecycle management across distributed environments while maintaining operational simplicity and resilience,” added Dani van der Meer, Lead Software Engineer at Q*Bird.
Building the foundation for scalable quantum secure communications
Together with the Falqon® MDI-QKD Series and Quantum Domain Controller (QDC), the Falqon® Key Manager forms part of Q*Bird’s end-to-end quantum secure networking portfolio.
The Falqon® QKD Series provides the quantum key generation layer, including Q*Bird’s Measurement Device Independent Quantum Key Distribution (MDI-QKD) systems, while the Falqon® Key Manager delivers the operational key management capabilities required to securely ingest, store, synchronise and deliver cryptographic keys across distributed infrastructures.
By bridging QKD and non-QKD environments, enabling the delivery of QKD keys, PQC keys and hybrid keys across distributed infrastructures, the Falqon® Key Manager provides the operational foundation for scalable hybrid quantum secure networks.
As quantum networking ecosystems continue to mature, organisations increasingly require infrastructure capable of delivering interoperability, crypto agility and operational resilience across diverse network environments. The Falqon® Key Manager is designed to provide the operational foundation for the next generation of scalable quantum secure communications.
