FOCAL operates within an established international and European standardisation environment that shapes how cryptographic technologies are specified, implemented, and deployed. Integrating standardisation into research and innovation (R&I) activities is essential for ensuring that project results can be adopted, scaled, and sustained beyond the lifetime of a funded initiative. This is particularly relevant in the field of post quantum cryptography (PQC), where new cryptographic approaches must be aligned with existing ICT infrastructures, interoperability requirements, and evolving regulatory frameworks. Within FOCAL, standardisation is therefore treated as a key element supporting the transition from research outcomes to practical application.
Standardisation provides a common technical foundation that enables compatibility and trust across systems, sectors, and borders. Rather than prescribing specific implementations, standards define agreed requirements, interfaces, and best practices. In the rapidly evolving PQC landscape, this approach supports a coordinated and secure migration towards quantum resilient systems, while allowing room for innovation and technological diversity.
To strengthen the consortium’s understanding of these processes, a dedicated webinar on ICT standardisation was held for FOCAL partners by Joseph Karis from the Cyprus Organisation for Standardisation (CYS). The webinar provided an overview of the principles and structure of formal standardisation, the roles of key Standards Development Organisations (SDOs), and the distinction between standards and regulations. It also highlighted how standardisation activities relate to research projects and how research results can be aligned with ongoing technical work.
Within the webinar, the FOCAL consortium discussed the international and European standardisation landscape relevant to FOCAL, including working Group such as ETSI Working Group on Quantum Safe Cryptography, CEN/CENELEC JTC 22 Working Group 4 Secure quantum Communications and ISO/IEC SC 27 WG2 Cryptography and security mechanisms. It also provided an overview of ongoing standardisation activities in the above standardization groups related to topics such as hybrid cryptographic approaches, migration considerations, and cryptographic agility, which are relevant to FOCAL’s technical focus.
By building shared knowledge within the consortium, the webinar supported FOCAL partners in understanding how standardisation interacts with research and innovation activities, and how projects can engage with standardisation in a structured and informed manner. This contributes to ensuring that FOCAL’s research is developed with awareness of existing and emerging standards, supporting coherence, interoperability, and long term impact.
Standardisation is a core element of FOCAL, ensuring that research results in PQC can be adopted, scaled, and sustained beyond the project lifetime.
In the PQC context, alignment with existing ICT infrastructures, interoperability needs, and regulatory frameworks is essential for practical deployment.
Standards provide a shared technical foundation based on agreed requirements and best practices, supporting trust, compatibility, and coordinated migration to quantum resilient systems.
A dedicated webinar for FOCAL partners strengthened understanding of formal ICT standardisation, including the roles of major SDOs and the relationship between standards, regulation, and research.
Awareness of ongoing international and European standardisation activities enables FOCAL to develop research outputs that are coherent with emerging standards, supporting long term impact and interoperability.