Insider Brief
- South Korea is expanding its post-quantum cryptography pilot program into telecommunications, finance, transportation, defense, and space sectors.
- The initiative will test PQC deployment, develop migration procedures, and evaluate technical challenges across critical infrastructure systems.
- The Ministry of Science and ICT also launched new R&D efforts focused on PQC conversion, verification, lightweight optimization, and PQC-QKD integration.
South Korea is expanding its post-quantum cryptography implementation across critical infrastructure sectors.
The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced it will broaden its pilot conversion project for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to include telecommunications, finance, transportation, defense, and space sectors. Last year’s pilot targeted key infrastructure in energy, medical, and administrative sectors, according to the ministry.
The expansion aims to apply PQC in these sectors, analyze technical problems and solutions that arise, and develop a pilot model that establishes conversion procedures, the Seoul Economic Daily reported.
PQC uses mathematical structures such as lattice and hash-based schemes, which are more complex than current public-key cryptographic algorithms like prime factorization and discrete logarithms, designed to resist attacks from quantum computers, the ministry stated.
The companies selected for implementation are Dream Security in telecommunications, KSmartech in finance, Mobilitus in transportation, Daeyoung S-Tek in defense, and a consortium led by KSign in space.
These companies will pilot-convert cryptographic systems for the National Science and Technology Research Network (KREONET) operated by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information; Hana Card’s card payment infrastructure; the next-generation intelligent transportation system infrastructure in Pangyo Zero City run by Gyeonggi Province and the Korea Road Traffic Authority; the Ministry of National Defense’s Smart Unit Integrated Platform; and Contec’s satellite communication infrastructure.
The ministry will also launch R&D projects in PQC conversion, verification, and core technologies. The goal is to secure technologies covering the entire process, from identifying vulnerable cryptographic assets within systems to rapid cryptographic system conversion and operational and stability verification, the source reported.
Four new initiatives will be pursued:
- Building an autonomous PQC conversion and integrated management platform
- Developing PQC optimization technology for ultra-lightweight hardware
- Developing PQC cryptographic module implementation conformance verification technology
- Developing core PQC-QKD combination technology
“Quantum security is no longer a choice but an essential core task for protecting national security and the daily lives of our citizens,” Lim Jung-kyu, Director General for Information Security and Network Policy at MSIT, said Monday, as cited by the Seoul Economic Daily. “Through this pilot conversion across the five sectors, we will secure a PQC conversion reference, and by completing full-cycle PQC technology self-reliance by 2030, we will elevate Korea into a world-class quantum security powerhouse.”
Source: Korea Expands Post-Quantum Cryptography Pilot to Telecom, Finance, Defense.
