Q-FENCE Co-hosts the Third QSNS Workshop at IEEE ISCC 2026

Collaboration is key to securing the quantum future, and QSNS 2026 proved exactly that.

On 23 June 2026, Q-FENCE co-hosted the third edition of the Quantum-Safe Networks and Systems (QSNS) workshop in Vilamoura, Portugal, as part of the 2026 IEEE Symposium on Computers and Communications (ISCC).

The workshop was chaired by Antonio Lioy (Politecnico di Torino), who led insightful discussions on one of the most pressing challenges in cybersecurity: protecting digital infrastructures against future quantum threats.

Q-FENCE was also pleased to see the participation of the Instituto de Microelectrónica de Sevilla (IMSE-CNM) team, who actively contributed to the workshop through a presentation by Macarena Cristina Martínez Rodríguez entitled “A Hybrid Classical and Post-Quantum Secure Element for Constrained Devices.”

While quantum computing promises groundbreaking advances across many fields, it also presents significant challenges for today’s cryptographic systems. A cryptographically relevant quantum computer could compromise many of the security mechanisms currently protecting digital communications and critical infrastructures. The QSNS workshop addressed these challenges from a practical engineering perspective, promoting an agile, standards-based, and hybrid transition towards post-quantum cryptography.

The workshop was jointly organised by several projects co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme. Q-FENCE was proud to collaborate alongside its sister projects qubip.eu, PQ-REACT, PQ-NEXT, POSEIDON PQC EU Project, and QARC. Together, these initiatives form the SPQR (Secure Post-Quantum eRa) Cluster, which coordinates research efforts and fosters collaboration among European projects working towards secure and resilient post-quantum cybersecurity solutions.

To learn more about the SPQR Cluster and its activities, visit: https://qubip.eu/spqr-cluster/

Q-FENCE would like to thank Antonio Lioy, Macarena Cristina Martínez Rodríguez, the CSIC team, all project partners, and every participant who contributed to the success of the workshop. Through continued collaboration and knowledge exchange, we are taking important steps towards building a resilient and quantum-safe digital future.