Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- KT, a major telecom company in South Korea has developed a new technology that enables a quantum cryptographic communication service without interruption. It can increase the stability of quantum cryptography communication infrastructure in the defense and financial sectors that require high levels of security and uninterrupted services.

Quantum cryptography is an essential security solution for safeguarding critical information. Data encoded in a quantum state is virtually unhackable without quantum keys which are basically random number tables used to decipher encrypted information. On a single quantum channel structure, the service can be suspended if a problem is detected.

KT said the automatic switching technology creates a dual-structure channel and supplies new quantum keys on the backup line if a failure occurs or a hacking attempt is recognized. "We've improved the problems of the existing quantum cryptography communication structure in an innovative way to lay the foundation for technology that can provide stable quantum cryptography communication services," said KT's infrastructure research center head Lee Jong-sik.

In April, KT was selected by the state-run National Information Society Agency (NIA) to set up and operate a test network for quantum cryptography on the Korea Advanced Research Network (KOREN), which will be used by organizations in the government, financial, defense and other local administrative sectors that handle sensitive information. A month later, KT demonstrated a quantum key distributor (QKD) system.

South Korean companies have tried to lead the standardization of quantum cryptographic communication technology. SK Telecom has applied its 5G quantum cryptography technology to IM Bank, the mobile banking app of DGB Daegu Bank. Users have their personal information thoroughly protected when they transfer money or open new accounts via identity verification.