Quantum key distribution (QKD) has emerged as a promising solution for guaranteeing information-theoretic security. Inspired by this, a great amount of research effort has been recently put on designing and testing QKD systems as well as articulating preliminary application scenarios. However, due to the considerable high-cost of QKD equipment, a lack of QKD communication system design tools, wide deployment of such systems and networks is challenging. Motivated by this, this paper introduces a QKD communication system design tool. First we articulate key operation elements of the QKD, and explain the feasibility and applicability of coherent-one-way (COW) QKD solutions. Next, we focus on documenting the corresponding simulation framework as well as defining the key performance metrics, i.e., quantum bit error rate (QBER), and secrecy key rate. To verify the accuracy of the simulation framework, we design and deploy a real-world QKD setup. We perform extensive experiments for three deployments of diverse transmission distance in the presence or absence of a QKD eavesdropper. The results reveal an acceptable match between simulations and experiments rendering the simulation framework a suitable tool for QKD communication system design.

This paper presents a novel hybrid approach to solving real-world drone routing problems by leveraging the capabilities of quantum computing. The proposed method, coined Quantum for Drone Routing (Q4DR), integrates the two most prominent paradigms in the field: quantum gate-based computing, through the Eclipse Qrisp programming language; and quantum annealers, by means of D-Wave System’s devices. The algorithm is divided into two different phases: an initial clustering phase executed using a Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA), and a routing phase employing quantum annealers. The efficacy of Q4DR is demonstrated through three use cases of increasing complexity, each incorporating real-world constraints such as asymmetric costs, forbidden paths, and itinerant charging points. This research contributes to the growing body of work in quantum optimization, showcasing the practical applications of quantum computing in logistics and route planning.

Abstract To assure certain critical quality properties (e.g., safety, security, or privacy), supervisory authorities and industrial associations provide reference frameworks such as standards or guidelines that in some cases are enforced (e.g., regulations). Given the pace at which both technical advancements and risks appear, there is an increase in the number of reference frameworks. As several frameworks might apply for same systems, certain overlaps appear (e.g., regulations for different countries where the system will operate, or generic standards in conjunction with more concrete standards for a given industrial sector or system type). We propose the use of modelling for alleviating the complexity of these reference frameworks ecosystems, and we provide a tool-supported method to create them for the benefit of different stakeholders. The case study is based on privacy data protection, and more concretely on privacy impact assessment processes. The European GDPR regulates the movement and processing of personal data, and, contrary to available software engineering privacy guidelines, articles in legal texts are usually difficult to translate to the underlying processes, artefacts and roles that they refer to. To facilitate the mutual comprehension of legal experts and engineers, in this work we investigate how mappings can be created between these two domains of expertise. Notably, we rely on modelling as a central point. We modelled the legal requirements of the GDPR on data protection impact assessments, and then, we selected the ISO/IEC 29134, a mainstream engineering guideline for privacy impact assessment, and, taking a concrete sector as example, the EU Smart Grid Data Protection Impact Assessment template. The OpenCert tool was used for providing technical support to both the modelling and the creation of the mapping models in a systematic way. We provide a qualitative evaluation from legal experts and privacy engineering practitioners to report on the benefits and limitations of this approach.

Industries from very diverse domains are realising that security should not be treated in a reactive way (e.g., once the cyberattack has happened). This way, security-related requirements and risks need to be continuously managed, and the need of integrating technical measures should be continuously assessed. In some cases, some decisions led, intentionally or unintentionally, to debt related to security aspects. This security debt is thus incurred when limited approaches or solutions are applied to reach the expected security levels of the system in operation. Identifying and making explicit security debt items is a challenge for companies. In this work, we analyse the literature on security debt to provide initial insights on the topic. Concretely, we discuss its definition, identify its most salient characteristics, present approaches for integrating its management in the product life-cycle, and to present categories and examples of security debt items.

International audience

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and automated vehicle applications based on embedded sensors have become a reality today. As road vehicles increase its autonomy and the driver shares his role in the control loop, novel challenges on their dependability assessment arise. One key issue is that the notion of controllability becomes more complex when validating the robustness of the automated vehicle in the presence of faults. This paper presents a simulation-based fault injection approach aimed at finding acceptable controllability properties for the model-based design of control systems. We focus on determining the best fault models inserting exceptional conditions to accelerate the identification of specific areas for testing. In our work we performed fault injection method to find the most appropriate safety concepts, controllability properties and fault handling strategies at early design phases of lateral control functions based on the error in the Differential GPS signal.

Today's vehicles are evolving towards smart cars, which will be able to drive autonomously and adapt to changing contexts. Incorporating self-adaptation in these cyber-physical systems (CPS) promises great benefits, like cheaper software-based redundancy or optimised resource utilisation. As promising as these advantages are, a respective proportion of a vehicle's functionality poses as safety hazards when confronted with fault and failure situations. Consequently, a system's safety has to be ensured with respect to the availability of multiple software applications, thus often resulting in redundant hardware resources, such as dedicated backup control units. To benefit from self-adaptation by means of creating efficient and safe systems, this work introduces a safety concept in form of a generic adaptation mechanism (GAM). In detail, this generic adaptation mechanism is introduced and analysed with respect to generally known and newly created safety hazards, in order to determine a minimal set of system properties and architectural limitations required to safely perform adaptation. Moreover, the approach is applied to the ICT architecture of a smart e-car, thereby highlighting the soundness, general applicability, and advantages of this safety concept and forming the foundation for the currently ongoing implementation of the GAM within a real prototype vehicle.

Today we live in an environment surrounded with networked converging devices. Human computer interactions are becoming personalized and a new concept of a global and cross-domain platform is emerging to exploit the full potential of the network in all business areas. In this convergence process, the software platform should be able to personalize itself dynamically in devices according to the context. OSAmI-Commons, an ITEA2 project for developing an open-source common approach to such a dynamic service-based platform, allows any type of device to connect and exchange information and services. OSAMI consortium is contributing to defining the foundations of a cross-platform open-services ecosystem. The sustainability of this platform is an objective beyond the project duration.