The EU – funded FOCAL project effort aims to design and implement a unified framework for Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) across edge networked environments — a critical milestone in ensuring Europe’s cybersecurity resilience in the quantum era.
FOCAL (Functional Composition of Post-Quantum Cryptosystems at Large) is one of three projects funded by the European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (ECC) and aims to enable the transition of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and critical infrastructure systems to evolve as quantum-safe deployments. It will thus deliver a unified framework for practical end-to-end functional composition of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) in edge environments through cross-layering approaches combining hardware reconfigurability, advanced network orchestration, trusted execution environments, and ML-driven interoperability.
Beyond its technological vision, FOCAL will play a strategic role in supporting the European Union’s efforts on Post-Quantum Cryptography standardisation. The project will develop metrics and methodologies to assess the readiness of edge ecosystems for PQC deployment and contribute to policy recommendations aligned with the European Commission’s Recommendation on Post-Quantum Cryptography.
The project’s consortium brings together 14 consortium partners across Europe, including major industry and academic entities. It is coordinated by the KIOS Center of Excellence at the University of Cyprus.
Project’s website: https://www.focal-pqc.eu/
FOCAL has received funding from ECCC under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 101225859.
