Next-level Security
The National Intelligence Service is about to initiate screening and authorization procedures regarding quantum cryptography communications products. This means the world’s first commercial quantum cryptography communications are around the corner in South Korea.
The first products to be covered by the NIS are likely to include SK Telecom’s quantum random number generator (QRNG). The company set up its quantum technology research center in 2011 and acquired IDQ in Switzerland in 2018. SK Telecom’s QRNG chip was used in Samsung Galaxy Quantum smartphones. More recently, it developed the Quantum Cryptography One Chip as a combination of the QRNG chip and a semiconductor device for quantum cryptography.
In addition, quantum key distribution-based dedicated line services have been released by SK Telecom and KT and a dedicated line service based on post-quantum cryptography (PQC) has been released by LG U+, which developed the world’s first PQC-based re-configurable optical add-drop multiplexer in June 2020.
Those technologies are expected to be adopted in multiple overseas markets once employed for quantum cryptography communications networks in the public sector of South Korea. At present, a quantum communications infrastructure project is underway in the European Union and its commercial network for quantum cryptography is likely to be similar in configuration to that of South Korea. In addition, some Asian countries are considering building quantum cryptography networks based on the South Korean model.