SecQDevOps Lisbon

The development of quantum technologies is advancing at an impressive pace. While the hardware is becoming increasingly powerful, a critical gap is emerging in practice: security concepts often lag behind rapid technological progress. Anyone aiming to use quantum systems productively and reliably in the future needs to consider security from the very first line of code.

This is exactly where the European Horizon Europe project SecQDevOps comes in. In March, the international consortium partners gathered for their first working meeting at energy company EDP in Lisbon to define the strategic and technical direction for the next phases of the project.

From DevSecOps to Secure Quantum DevOps

In traditional software development, the DevSecOps principle – the seamless integration of security processes throughout the entire development lifecycle – has long been established as a standard. Transferring this concept to quantum computing, however, introduces entirely new and highly complex challenges:

• Pathways for hybrid architectures: How can classical IT infrastructures and quantum systems be connected seamlessly while maintaining end-to-end security?
• Hardware-related security risks: How can the specific vulnerabilities and device-dependent noise of today’s NISQ hardware be addressed without compromising the integrity of computations?
• Automated AI-based analysis: How can specially trained AI models automatically support developers by identifying logical errors and security vulnerabilities while quantum code is being created?

A Strategic Competitive Advantage for Companies

The discussions in Lisbon once again made one thing clear: Security by Design must not be treated as an afterthought in quantum computing. It needs to be embedded as a fundamental principle from the outset.

For decision-makers in IT and innovation strategy, this creates a clear call to action. Quantum computing is no longer purely a future experiment. Companies that begin addressing practical and secure development processes for quantum software today will not only build an early knowledge advantage but may also help shape the standards of their industries tomorrow.

A sincere thank you goes to the EDP team for their excellent hospitality and organization in Lisbon, as well as to all consortium partners for the productive exchange.