Cyprus and Greece Establish Quantum-Secure Satellite Link

Insider Brief

• Cyprus and Greece have established their first quantum-secure satellite data connection using Sparkle’s Quantum Safe Interconnect (QSI) system and Hellas Sat’s satellite infrastructure.
• The connection links Sparkle’s data centre in Athens with Hellas Sat infrastructure in Cyprus, with data travelling about 72,000 kilometres through the satellite system.
• The companies said the trial demonstrates how software-based quantum-safe protection can be applied to existing terrestrial and satellite networks to address harvest-now-decrypt-later risks.

Cyprus and Greece have established their first quantum-secure satellite data connection, Sparkle and Hellas Sat, a satellite operator serving Greece and Cyprus, announced on Wednesday, in a development aimed at protecting communications against future cyber threats, the Cyprus Mail reported.

The connection links Sparkle‘s data centre in Metamorfosi, Athens, with Hellas Sat infrastructure in Cyprus, following earlier successful testing of a secure IPsec connection between two data centres in Greece. The latest trial extends that protection to a live satellite connection between the two countries, with data travelling approximately 72,000 kilometres through the satellite system, including the uplink from Cyprus to the satellite and the subsequent downlink to Greece.

According to the companies, this marks the first application of this specific form of quantum protection to a Greece-Cyprus satellite link.

The link runs on Sparkle’s Quantum Safe Interconnect (QSI) system, built to counter what’s known as the “store now, decrypt later” risk: data intercepted and stored today, with the expectation that future computing power will eventually crack its encryption, the outlet reported.

QSI works by transmitting data securely while automatically rotating encryption keys. Because the system is software-based, it can be layered onto networks and security infrastructure that already exist, meaning companies can upgrade their protection site by site without ripping out current systems.

For readers looking to understand “store now, decrypt later” in more depth, TQI’s coverage of why the harvest-now-decrypt-later threat creates urgency today and how quantum computing affects modern cryptography covers the mechanics of the threat and what organizations are doing to prepare.

Company Statements

“The extension of QSI to satellite communications with Hellas Sat demonstrates in practice that this technology can be applied everywhere, on terrestrial networks, satellites and across different environments,” said Antonella Sanguineti, Sparkle‘s head of Networking, Cloud, Security & Identity Solutions, as cited by the Cyprus Mail. “This opens new prospects for protecting communications for organisations and companies that require highly secure and resilient connectivity in remote areas,” she added.

The outlet noted that the achievement carries particular weight for Cyprus given Hellas Sat’s role in delivering communications infrastructure from the island.

“This new achievement is a milestone in our cooperation with Sparkle,” said Constantinos Kassianides, Hellas Sat’s director of Ground Operations. “By combining our satellite infrastructure with Sparkle’s QSI solution, we are able to explore the commercial availability of quantum-secure satellite services for businesses operating in difficult-to access, remote and critical locations,” he added.

Company Background

Hellas Sat runs three geostationary satellites, two of them positioned at 39 degrees east, and maintains telecommunications facilities spanning 15,000 square metres in Greece and 30,000 square metres in Cyprus, according to the Cyprus Mail. The company holds exclusive licensing from both the Greek and Cypriot governments to operate at the 39-degree-east orbital slot and its associated radio frequencies. Its satellite network and facilities provide satellite and terrestrial services to government and defence authorities worldwide.

Sparkle Greece operates four data centres, including three in Attica and one in Chania, all connected to the Sparkle Group’s fibre-optic network. The company provides colocation, cloud and international connectivity services and has a 40 per cent share of the Greek cloud and data centre market, serving more than 150 customers including telecommunications providers, organisations and domestic and multinational companies, the publication reported.

The Cyprus-Greece link builds on the earlier round of testing carried out in Greece in 2026 and adds to the country’s growing footprint in next-generation telecommunications security.