VenQCI Becomes Italy's First Operational Quantum-Safe Network, Live Since March 2025
Updated
Updated · Cisco Blogs · Aug 4
VenQCI Becomes Italy's First Operational Quantum-Safe Network, Live Since March 2025
1 articles · Updated · Cisco Blogs · Aug 4
Summary
VenQCI has been fully operational since March 2025, giving Italy its first quantum-safe network in active service in the Veneto region.
The network was built by Regione Veneto, the University of Padova and motorway operator Concessioni Autostradali Venete to provide a secure, high-capacity backbone for public institutions, critical infrastructure operators and citizens.
Its launch is being framed as an early response to the threat that future fault-tolerant quantum computers could break most current encryption, making post-quantum cryptography migration an urgent priority.
The broader push also reflects pressure on classical computing as frontier AI costs have climbed from about $4 million for GPT-3 in 2020 to roughly $500 million five years later.
The report argues businesses should act in 2026 by upgrading cryptographic infrastructure, designing quantum-ready AI systems and training staff before hybrid quantum deployments arrive within 3 to 4 years.
While Cisco warns of quantum-broken encryption, could the massive overhaul to post-quantum cryptography disrupt the very AI systems it aims to protect?
As adversaries quietly harvest encrypted data today, is your enterprise's hidden cryptography already a ticking time bomb awaiting a quantum breakthrough?