A unique cybersecurity hub is now operational in the heart of Wallonia! Its strength lies in the combination of two one-of-a-kind infrastructures on a single site: a cyber range with a crisis simulator and a quantum cryptography laboratory. Supported by the Walloon Government and developed by IDELUX, this center, inaugurated on Friday, February 7, 2025, offers Walloon economic players new infrastructures to tackle cybersecurity challenges.
Alongside the ESA Cybersecurity Center in Redu and the Nexova Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity at Galaxia, these two infrastructures contribute to forming a “cyber valley” with European ambitions.
CONTACT US :
Pierre-Yves DEFOSSE – Business Development Officer
Jean-François HAINAUX – Business Development Officer
Unique Infrastructures in Synergy at the Heart of Wallonia!
The new IDELUX cybersecurity hub combines two cutting-edge infrastructures: a cyber range with a crisis simulator and a quantum cryptography laboratory. These facilities provide concrete and highly effective cybersecurity training. By simulating realistic attack and response scenarios, users can test their system’s resilience and anticipate cyber threats.
The “Gilles Brassard” quantum cryptography laboratory offers a dedicated space for researchers, engineers, and experts to develop innovative solutions for securing digital communications using quantum physics concepts. IDELUX’s fundamental goal is to make this lab available to institutions and businesses eager to contribute to Europe’s quantum key distribution (QKD) protection.
Decisive Support from the Walloon Government
Through action 140 of the Wallonia Recovery Plan, the Walloon Government has provided financial support for the creation of this cybersecurity center of excellence, based on three key pillars: institutional, educational, and industrial. Nearly €10 million has been invested to establish these essential cybersecurity infrastructures and launch an international cybersecurity school.
IDELUX is responsible for animating and operationalizing the hub, ensuring engagement from both economic and public sectors. The intermunicipal organization plays a crucial role as a catalyst and integrator, maximizing the return on public investment.
This significant investment reflects an ambitious vision: to make Wallonia a leading hub for cybersecurity. By offering these infrastructures free of charge to public, economic, academic, and industrial actors, the center will strengthen the region’s resilience against cyber threats.
Strong Partnerships and Strategic Synergy with the European Space Agency
The physical proximity of the ESA/ESEC (European Space Security and Education Centre) in Redu creates, along with this new center, an ecosystem of strategic importance. The European Space Agency (ESA), established in Redu since 1968, is the third-largest space agency in the world, comprising 22 member states. Belgium, as ESA’s 5th largest financial contributor, is among the six countries hosting an operational center on its territory. This exceptional presence fosters industrial development in the region.
Thanks to strong partnerships with leading technology firms like Thales (for the quantum cryptography lab) and Nexova (for the cyber range and crisis simulator), the synergy of these operators at a single site attracts industrial players in the space and cybersecurity sectors, contributing to the growth of a dynamic ecosystem.
A Critical Cybersecurity Hub for the Future
The IDELUX cybersecurity hub addresses a critical need in the field of cybersecurity. Cyber risk is a real and growing threat to all organizations. Responding effectively requires trained personnel, making it a top priority for both corporate and public sector leadership.
Moreover, scientific advancements—particularly in quantum cryptography applications—make it essential to prepare for a new generation of cyberattacks. Future quantum computers will instantly render current security protocols obsolete, exposing the most sensitive data of governments, institutions, businesses, and citizens.
The “Gilles Brassard” Quantum Cryptography Laboratory
The cybersecurity hub’s quantum cryptography laboratory is named after Professor Gilles Brassard, who, alongside Charles Bennett, pioneered quantum cryptography. His development of the BB84 protocol (Bennett & Brassard – 1984) and his groundbreaking work on quantum teleportation theory have earned him numerous global awards, including the Wolf Prize, the most prestigious physics award.
Professor Gilles Brassard honored IDELUX’s December 2024 Cyber School—organized with funding from the Walloon Region—by delivering a lecture on cryptography.
The quantum lab bearing his name will integrate and deploy the BB84 protocol, ensuring unbreakable technological security for future applications.
CONTACT US :
Pierre-Yves DEFOSSE – Business Development Officer
Jean-François HAINAUX -Business Development Officer
Relay Hall Hosting Cybersecurity Tools
