SYS_STATUS: PUBLISHING / OPERATIONAL

// Quantum Security & Computing Intelligence

qnews.io
Menu
Search
Post-Quantum Security

nLighten and Arqit Test a Sovereign Path to Using Public Cloud

Sead Fadilpašić avatar
BY: Sead Fadilpašić
PUB:
ETA: [ 5 MIN ]

nLighten and Arqit have completed a proof of concept aimed at a common problem for regulated companies: how to use a public cloud without losing control of sensitive data. The setup keeps customer data and encryption keys inside a physical European data center while still running workloads on a major cloud provider. It’s a demonstration, not a deployed product.

How nLighten and Arqit keep data sovereign in the cloud

According to the July 14 press release, the test ran between nLighten’s data center in Geneva and one of the largest hyperscalers, which the companies did not name. The idea is that the workload runs in the public cloud, but the data and the cryptographic controls stay anchored to the Geneva facility, which customers can physically identify and audit.

Three pieces make that possible. nLighten supplies the European data center. Arqit’s key platform extends the trusted setup securely into the cloud, and its quantum-safe encryption guards data moving in and out against “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks, where an adversary stores encrypted data today to crack once quantum computers are strong enough. Intel’s confidential-computing hardware isolates the workload as it’s being processed, which walls it off from other users and software on the same machine.

Why sovereign cloud is becoming a priority

The pitch is a middle path between handing everything to a hyperscaler and keeping it all in-house, aimed at finance, pharmaceutical, and public-sector organizations facing tighter EU rules like the Cloud Sovereignty Framework. Arqit CEO Andy Leaver framed the difference as technical assurance rather than contractual assurance, which means the controls are enforceable by hardware and cryptography, not just a provider’s promise.

The quantum-safe encryption is one part of a wider data-sovereignty story here, not the whole point. The companies plan to replicate the model across nLighten’s 30-plus European sites, though this stage remains a proof of concept.