Report: Migration of X-Road to Post-Quantum Cryptography
For X-Road to maintain its foundational promise of a trustworthy digital ecosystem, a rigorous, forward-looking assessment is mandatory. To support NIIS in the migration of X-Road to post-quantum cryptography (PQC), this report presents the results of the X-Road study on migration to PQC.
For X-Road to maintain its foundational promise of a trustworthy digital ecosystem, a rigorous, forward-looking assessment is mandatory. To support NIIS in the migration of X-Road to post-quantum cryptography (PQC), this report presents the results of the X-Road study on the transition to quantum-resistant cryptography.
The primary objective of this study is to study the migration process to PQC and risk assessment in the X-Road data exchange layer. As a result, this study aimed to identify the new threats that quantum computing brings to current cryptographic standards and how X-Road should be modified to protect against these threats.
The study is driven by the near-future availability of large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers (QC), which can leverage Shor’s and Grover’s algorithms to break current public-key infrastructure and significantly weaken symmetric key schemes. The urgency is driven by the “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” threat, which exposes sensitive data with long retention periods to immediate compromise once the QC is implemented.
Report: Trusted Research Environment and Data Space Integration Study
In this study, the integration of Trusted Research Environments (TREs) and data spaces are studied from multiple perspectives.
The rapid digital transformation of research and innovation ecosystems has led to an excessive growth in data volume, diversity, and distribution. Sensitive and regulated data, particularly in sectors such as healthcare, energy, and public services, is often dispersed across organisational and national boundaries. This creates a need for infrastructures that enable secure, compliant, and interoperable data sharing and analysis.
Trusted Research Environments (TREs) and data spaces have emerged as two complementary paradigms addressing this challenge. TREs provide controlled environments for secure processing of sensitive data, ensuring strict governance, privacy, and auditability. Data spaces, on the other hand, offer decentralised frameworks for cross-organisational data exchange based on common standards, governance models, and trust mechanisms. Integrating these two approaches combines the strengths of both: TREs safeguard sensitive data, while data spaces enable scalable discovery, negotiation, and collaboration across ecosystems.
In this study, the integration of TREs and data spaces are studied from multiple perspectives.
Report: X-Road Sustainability Improvement Study 2
The X-Road Sustainability Improvement Study 2 investigates the following themes:
X-Road technical sustainability.
Environmental sustainability of X-Road ecosystems.
Sustainability by X-Road through SDGs.
NIIS has previously (2021–2023) addressed X-Road sustainability by conducting a study of the environmental impact of X-Road and the possibilities of reducing it (including the Emissions Calculator). In addition, there have been internal investigations for evaluating the sustainability of the X-Road development process and integrating “green” software development principles into X-Road's current development process (2023). Furthermore, a public X-Road Academy course Sustainability in Software Development has been created.
In 2023, a dedicated research project X-Road Sustainability Improvement Study was conducted. The research themes were X-Road software development process environmental impacts evaluation and improvement opportunities discovery, X-Road environmental handprint evaluation, and X-Road carbon footprint measurement in actual operative environments comparing to the X-Road Emissions Calculator estimations.
Grounding on the abovementioned prior works, the planned aims of this study were to investigate the following themes:
X-Road technical sustainability (WP1).
Environmental sustainability of X-Road ecosystems (WP2).
Sustainability by X-Road through SDGs (WP3).
Report: X-Road Sustainability Improvement Study
The X-Road Sustainability Improvement Study investigates the following themes—focusing on the environmental sustainability:
X-Road software development process environmental impacts evaluation and improvement opportunities discovery.
X-Road environmental handprint evaluation.
X-Road carbon footprint measurement in actual operative environments comparing to the X-Road Emissions Calculator estimations.
NIIS has previously (2021–2022) addressed X-Road sustainability by conducting a study of the
environmental impact of X-Road and the possibilities of reducing it (including the Emissions Calculator).
In addition, there have been internal investigations for evaluating the sustainability of the X-Road
development process and integrating green software development principles into X-Road's current
development process (2023). Furthermore, a public X-Road Academy course Sustainability in Software
Development has been created.
Grounding on the abovementioned prior works, the planned aims (in 2022) of this study were to
investigate the following themes—focusing on the environmental sustainability:
X-Road software development process environmental impacts evaluation and improvement opportunities discovery (WP1).
X-Road environmental handprint evaluation (WP2).
X-Road carbon footprint measurement in actual operative environments comparing to the X-Road Emissions Calculator estimations (WP3).
Report: Rebooting Trust Management in X-Road
Trust is the basic concept around which business and information security is formed. Like most systems, currently, X-Road uses a centralised root of trust to manage identities. The report presents the results of the research on migrating X-Road towards self-sovereign identity (SSI) management.
The report compares the centralised and decentralised identity management approaches to illustrate how systems should be changed to enable SSI. Additionally, the report discusses how the shift to the decentralised public key infrastructure can contribute to the X-Road trust model and member management.
Trust is the basic concept around which business and information security is formed. Like most systems, currently, X-Road uses a centralised root of trust to manage identities. The report presents the results of the research on migrating X-Road towards self-sovereign identity (SSI) management.
The report compares the centralised and decentralised identity management approaches to illustrate how systems should be changed to enable SSI. Additionally, the report discusses how the shift to the decentralised public key infrastructure can contribute to the X-Road trust model and member management.
Report: European Interoperability Landscape Report 2022
The delivery of cross-border digital public services largely depends on the ability of public administrations and businesses to transfer data across borders. Therefore, access to trusted, interoperable, and secure data-exchange solutions is essential for delivering cross-border services but is also crucial for establishing the Single Digital Gateway (SDG) and building a functioning European Digital Single Market (DSM). So far, the landscape of European cross-border data-exchange initiatives is unclear, especially regarding different solutions, roles, specifications, and technological differences between them.
The purpose of this report is to review the status of implementation and adoption of European cross-border data-exchange solutions and initiatives. Also, the report discusses the future outlook of European cross-border digital public services.
The delivery of cross-border digital public services largely depends on the ability of public administrations and businesses to transfer data across borders. Therefore, access to trusted, interoperable, and secure data-exchange solutions is essential for delivering cross-border services but is also crucial for establishing the Single Digital Gateway (SDG) and building a functioning European Digital Single Market (DSM). So far, the landscape of European cross-border data-exchange initiatives is unclear, especially regarding different solutions, roles, specifications, and technological differences between them.
The purpose of this report is to review the status of implementation and adoption of European cross-border data-exchange solutions and initiatives. Also, the report discusses the future outlook of European cross-border digital public services.
Report: Introduction to eDelivery and Harmony eDelivery Access
eDelivery Digital Service Infrastructure (DSI) is one of the building blocks of the European Commission (EC) Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) that enables the exchange of data between networked organisations in an interoperable, reliable and secure manner. Harmony eDelivery Access by the Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions provides a free, productised and actively maintained open-source solution for joining eDelivery networks.
The purpose of this report is to give an introduction to the eDelivery building block and the role of eDelivery in Europe. Also, the report gives a broad understanding of Harmony eDelivery Access.
eDelivery Digital Service Infrastructure (DSI) is one of the building blocks of the European Commission (EC) Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) that enables the exchange of data between networked organisations in an interoperable, reliable and secure manner. Harmony eDelivery Access by the Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions provides a free, productised and actively maintained open-source solution for joining eDelivery networks.
The purpose of this report is to give an introduction to the eDelivery building block and the role of eDelivery in Europe. Also, the report gives a broad understanding of Harmony eDelivery Access.
Report: Study of the Environmental Impact of X-Road and the Possibilities of Reducing It
Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions (NIIS) has set a long-term goal to make X-Road the most sustainable data exchange solution in the world. The short-term goal is to focus on the direct and tangible environmental impacts of the X- Road software. X-Road is an open-source software and ecosystem solution that provides unified and secure data exchange between X-Road members.
The purpose of this research is to assess the current emissions profile across X-Road’s operations and services to give targeted recommendations for emissions reduction and sustainable business practices that may be integrated into future decision making.
Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions (NIIS) has set a long-term goal to make X-Road the most sustainable data exchange solution in the world. The short-term goal is to focus on the direct and tangible environmental impacts of the X- Road software. X-Road is an open-source software and ecosystem solution that provides unified and secure data exchange between X-Road members.
The purpose of this research is to assess the current emissions profile across X-Road’s operations and services to give targeted recommendations for emissions reduction and sustainable business practices that may be integrated into future decision making.
