Which enabling technological developments have a meaningful impact on the security industry? One development stands out: Quantum technology. No longer a far-fetched concept, quantum already influences our perspective on security, communication, and competitive innovation. During this session, we explore what quantum means for the security domain, how the technology is developing, and why it is crucial to pay attention to it now.
Presentations around 10-15 mins + buffer time for hot seat Q&As following each presentation. Confirmed speakers, all-star line-up complete:
– Moderator: Jaya Baloo, Cybersecurity expert
– Ulrich Mans (EU perspective), QDNL
– Teun van der Veen, TNO
– Dimitri van Esch, Quantum Gateway Foundation
– Nicole van der Meulen, SURF (Cyber security innovation Lead)
– Michal Krelina, QuDef
– Remon Berrevoets, Q*Bird (showcase real-world collaboration/work with NL ministries and industry (e.g., telecom)
– Gustavo Castro do Amaral, TNO
Ulrich Mans, QDNL
Is Europe ready for Q-Day? As we see growing interest in post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution, where do we stand in countering possible threats to Europe’s critical infrastructure; how do we orchestrate collaboration and what should be done when considering the potential developments beyond Q-day? Three recommendations/aspects will be covered from the QDNL perspective on what could be done in NL.
Bio: Dr. Ulrich Mans is Quantum Delta NL’s Strategic Partnerships Lead. In this role, he developed and executed the international collaboration programs with QDNL’s priority countries and was responsible for defining the organisation’s approach towards economic security and digital sovereignty, including geopolitical topics such as supply chain management, investment screening, knowledge security and export control. He is also closely involved in the international activities of QDNL’s Centre for Quantum & Society, and helped create the world’s first House of Quantum in the Netherlands.
Teun van der Veen, TNO
Sketch of the field: threat and opportunities of quantum + remedies (PQC, QKD, other)
Bio: Teun is a senior consultant and Quantum Communications lead at TNO, specialising in quantum networks and strategy with a background in applied physics. He has driven R&D projects in quantum internet, broadband & media, and related industry standards.
Dimitri van Esch, Quantum Gateway Foundation
Eliminating the Quantum threat: We need you!
For Quantum technology to be used for good, it’s up to us to eliminate the Quantum threat. What are the things you can do to work with us to make sure we use Quantum for Good, as it takes all of us. We need all of you to highlight the importance of this and give you concrete no-regret moves regarding your cryptography.
Bio: Dimitri is CEO of Quantum Gateway Foundation, an experienced developer, solution architect, network-security specialist and more, working on Quantum-safe software to secure the future.
Nicole van der Meulen, SURF
Nicole will focus on why organisations need to start now in assessing how quantum developments intersect with their security challenges – by identifying relevance, defining no-regret first steps, and shaping a strategic roadmap. Will touch on the difficulty of getting started and how to build momentum through collaboration and internal awareness.
Bio: Dr. Nicole van der Meulen is cybersecurity innovation lead at SURF, where she focuses on the impact of technological innovation on cybersecurity. Previously, she worked for a variety of organisations, including Europol and RAND Europe, focusing on strategic threat analysis and cybersecurity policy development. She holds a PhD from Tilburg University, where she wrote her doctoral research on financial identity theft in the digital age.
Michal Krelina, QuDef
As quantum communication – particularly Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) – emerges as a cornerstone of next-generation secure networks, it also becomes a potential target for sophisticated adversaries. This presentation provides a comprehensive perspective on the threat landscape surrounding quantum communication systems, analyzing the complete attack lifecycle (kill chain) from reconnaissance to exploitation and disruption. Special attention is given to practical and theoretical hacking approaches against QKD protocols, ranging from side-channel attacks to implementation-level vulnerabilities. To address these challenges, we highlight countermeasures and resilience strategies, including the integration of quantum threat intelligence. In particular, we demonstrate how the SQOUT platform by QuDef can be leveraged to model adversarial behavior, assess vulnerabilities, and guide effective defense mechanisms. By combining systematic threat analysis with countermeasures, this study contributes to advancing the security posture of quantum communication infrastructures.
Bio: Dr. Michal Krelina, as a consultant, analyst, and researcher, focuses on the security and defence applications of quantum technology. Dr. Krelina is a Co-Founder and CTO at QuDef, a quantum security company, and an Associate Senior Researcher at SIPRI Armament and Disarmament, specialising in quantum technology. His professional interests span mapping quantum technology military applications, exploring its roles in future conflicts, developing quantum countermeasures, assessing quantum technology risk and threats, examining the convergence of quantum and classical cybersecurity, and studying the impact of quantum technology on international security and peace research. He has also provided consulting services to organisations such as NATO, EUSPA, as well as various defence, law enforcement, and governmental agencies. He holds a PhD in experimental nuclear physics.
Remon Berrevoets, Q*Bird
Scalable Quantum Key Distribution Networks, and the implementation of this technology into real-world networks and environment.
Bio: Remon Berrevoets completed his masters at the Delft Univerity of Technology with a specialization in quantum technology. After his studies, he pursued engineering in the quantum networking field, which resulted in the spin-out Q*Bird, of which Remon is one of the co-founders. Since then he is the CTIO of Q*Bird, leading the R&D efforts of the company.
Gustavo Castro do Amaral, TNO
Bridging the gap between available quantum technologies and their implementation in relevant use-cases is TNO’s role towards creating societal impact. TNO’s interdisciplinary team has created an interactive software framework that brings together manufacturers of QKD devices and potential users; we call it AsQK’D. In the talk, I will explain how AsQK’D could bridge such gap, its inner workings, and next steps in its development.
Bio: Gustavo Amaral is the scientific lead of the Quantum in Space Roadmap at TNO. His focus is achieving positive societal impact with quantum technology.
