NQM, DoS working on hack-proof, quantum-safe communication tech for India’s defence sector

NQM will require the help of satellite providers like ISRO to carry the hardware onto the satellite

The Department of Space is working with officials from the National Quantum Mission (NQM) to build quantum-safe, hack-proof space technologies for India’s defence forces, following Operation Sindoor, during which security concerns were flagged.

Officials said that while the defence forces navigated with the Indian Constellation (NavIC) system to pinpoint targets, these technologies could have been easily hacked by quantum computing – a form of technology that countries like China have made great strides in.

A quantum-secure satellite network with post quantum cryptography (PQC) VPNs will protect any satellite communication against hacking by a quantum computer. India’s private satellite companies are also involved in building this quantum-safe satellite network.

“China has made major strides in quantum computing and in certain areas where they can break regular security systems much faster than anybody else. The biggest threat to India is China, not any other country. Technologies like NavIC can be broken by China if it uses quantum. So, quantum-secure space communication is very important for us,” said Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman of the Mission Governing Board for the National Quantum Mission , stressing the need for Indian IP hardware chips to prevent any data going back to China.

While the entire network of satellites may take until 2027, sources said that the first quantum satellite will likely be announced within the next two to three months. Indian authorities are also working to integrate long-distance quantum key distribution (QKD) networks on LEO and higher satellites by early August and to equip defence satellites with PQC solutions. These solutions will generate digital signatures for each defence location, doing away with the need for each ground station to send its individual authentication key to the satellite.

However, to achieve this, sources involved with the work said that NQM will require the help of satellite providers like ISRO to carry the hardware onto the satellite. The government has already fast-tracked the launch of 52 dedicated surveillance satellites. Chowdhry said the authorities are dedicated to making all these satellites quantum secure within the required time-frame.

cyberattacks target

 According to the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), the Indian cyberspace had become a war scene following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor. India’s computer networks were targeted by multiple cyberattacks allegedly from Pakistani threat actors, alongside a surge in State-linked propaganda operations, said ORF. Prior to Operation Sindoor, ORF reported Pakistan-based hackers targeted Indian defence organisations,  local government portals.

“In one such case, the website of the Armoured Vehicle Nigam Ltd, a defence public sector unit, was defaced to display a Pakistani flag and the Pakistan Army’s Al Khalid tank. Some media outlets also reported data breaches, though these claims remain unsubstantiated,” said ORF, adding that there was a growing cyber alignment between China and Pakistan, worsening India’s fears of a potential ‘two-front war’ with China and Pakistan.

To Chowdhry’s point, China in March 2025, reportedly announced Zuchongzhi-3, a superconducting quantum computer prototype with 105 readable qubits and 182 couplers that can process quantum random circuit sampling (RCS) tasks a quadrillion times faster than the world’s most powerful supercomputer. According to the Physical Review Letter publication, Zuchongzhi-3 is a million times faster than Google’s Sycamore superconducting quantum processor.

Published on July 6, 2025