SK Telecom, Thales partner on post-quantum cryptography

In the context of 5G networks and evolving cryptographic standards, SK Telecom (“SKT”), Korea's largest mobile operator, and Thales, a leader in digital security, have teamed up to successfully perform advanced stress testing in post-quantum cryptography. Based on a 5G standalone network and a 5G SIM , the solution aims to securely encrypt and decrypt subscriber identities, to protect user privacy against future quantum threats.

This initiative is all the more relevant today as it protects subscribers against the risk of attacks which consist of recording data to decrypt it later ('record now, decrypt later'). This represents a major advance since this solution makes it possible to protect the identity of subscribers on the 5G network.

The innovation involves improving the cryptography used to anonymize the user's digital identity on the 5G network . In fact, the user's identity on a 5G network is hidden and secured on the device side thanks to the 5G SIM. The security mechanisms use cryptographic algorithms designed to resist attacks from future quantum computers, providing a level of security considered robust in the post-quantum era.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) led an initiative to standardize post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, and SKT and Thales used Crystals-Kyber's for this successful real-world test. These post-quantum secure algorithms are developed to resist attacks from classical and quantum computers.

“This collaboration between SKT and Thales underlines our commitment to staying ahead of the curve in cybersecurity and keeping our customers’ data secure. PQC provides enhanced security through the use of cryptographic algorithms developed to resist quantum computing attacks. In the future, we will combine the PQC SIM card with our additional quantum expertise to achieve end-to-end secure quantum communications,” said Yu Takki, Vice President and Head of Infra Technology Office of SK Telecom.

“Since quantum computers have the potential to break some existing cryptographic algorithms, it becomes necessary to move to cryptographic algorithms considered secure against quantum attacks. For 5G networks, Thales has started investing in quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms to improve communications security and user privacy,” said Eva Rudin, Senior Vice President, Mobile Connectivity & Solutions at Thales.