This book is ideal as the main textbook for a course in quantum communications, cryptography and security as well as a supplementary text covering this subject for more general courses on quantum information and computing. Aimed at students who do not have a previous background in quantum mechanics, the book serves the growing audience of students who approach quantum communications, cryptography and security with an engineering, mathematical or technological background. Starting from the fundamentals of classical and quantum information theory, this self-contained book takes the reader from the basics to advanced topics in quantum security and cryptography. Based on the authors' classroom-tested lecture notes, the style is designed to be student-friendly throughout, with plenty of worked examples, exercises, and laboratory experiments, while maintaining a high level of rigor. As quantum cryptography and security continue to advance rapidly, a solid understanding of both their fundamental principles and practical challenges is becoming increasingly important.
The coverage is comprehensive, from the basics of quantum information and related topics such as entanglement and Bell's inequality, through to the forefront of current research in areas including quantum random number generation, quantum key distribution, entanglement generation, quantum digital signatures, quantum memories and quantum communications in space.

Prof. Giuseppe Vallone is Full Professor of Experimental Physics at the Department of Information Engineering of the University of Padua since February 2024. He is also co-founder and CTO of ThinkQuantum, a spin-off of the University of Padua developing quantum-based technologies and systems for secure communications.
His research focuses on quantum information, quantum optics, quantum communication, photonic quantum states, quantum random number generators, and quantum technologies for fiber, free-space and satellite communications. He is an inventor on three patents and has authored more than 200 scientific contributions in the fields of quantum optics, quantum information and quantum communications.
He has coordinated several national and European research projects in quantum technologies, including the European Horizon 2020 project QUANGO, the Italian project QUASAR (QUAntum SAfe Randomness), and the European Horizon Europe project QUDICE (Quantum Devices and Subsystems for Communications in Space). He has also participated in several European and international research initiatives devoted to quantum communications and space-based quantum technologies.
At the University of Padua, he teaches courses in quantum information and quantum cryptography, including “Quantum Information & Computing” and “Quantum Cryptography & Security”, as well as undergraduate physics/electromagnetism courses in Computer Engineering.

Prof. Nicola Laurenti received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Telecommunication Engineering in 1999 from University of Padua, Italy. In 2001 he became assistant professor at the Department of Information Engineering, University of Padua. In 2008–2009 he was visiting scholar at the Coordinated Science Laboratory of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 
He is now Associate Professor in Telecommunications at the Department of Information Engineering, University of Padua. His research activity mainly deals with wireless security at the physical, data link and network layers, unconditional security, and quantum key distribution systems. He has authored 130 scientific papers and 2 industrial patents.
He leads a research laboratory on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Security and has been the principal investigator in several projects on GNSS integrity protection and resilient navigation, funded by the European Space Agency. He has also participated in research projects on the applications and implementation of quantum cryptography. 
He teaches the "Quantum Cryptography and Security" and "Information Security" classes for the Master programs in ICT and in Cybersecurity at the University of Padua. 

Prof. Paolo Villoresi is a Full Professor of Physics since 2015 and Founding Director of the Padua Quantum Technologies Research Center since 2020, both at the University of Padova. He studied Physics and Applied Mathematics at University of Padova, where he has been a permanent faculty member since 1994. In 2002, he proposed and then realized the first single photon exchange with a satellite using the ASI-MLRO telescope in Matera, attesting the feasibility of space quantum communications. He founded QuantumFuture research group on quantum communication, that demonstrated the first QC in Space using orbiting retroreflectors, adopting polarization and temporal modes. The group research topics expanded to QRNG and different coding in space and ground quantum communications, for fundamental science and applications. His past research topics include Atomic Physics in the attosecond domain, multiphoton ionization, ultrafast optics in extreme ultraviolet and X-rays, often exploiting adaptive optics and his 14 industrial patents and patent applications. He is also founder of ThinkQuantum, a spinoff of University of Padova introducing advanced QKD technologies for space and ground networks. 
He is a Fellow of the Venetian Institute of Science, Letters and Arts since 2021.