KT selected as operator of state agency's test quantum cryptography network

[Courtesy of KT]

SEOUL -- KT, South Korea's largest telecom company, was selected by a state agency to set up and operate a test network for quantum cryptography, a future communication technology which has emerged as an essential security solution for safeguarding critical information in the 5G era.

KT said in a statement on Monday that the company was chosen by the National Information Society Agency (NIA) to operate a quantum cryptography network on the Korea Advanced Research Network (KOREN). Data encoded in a quantum state is virtually unhackable without quantum keys which are basically random number tables used to decipher encrypted information.

"In order to provide a safer network environment for the future, we will continue to research and develop quantum cryptography communication technology and distribute it to domestic industries," KT's convergence technology center head Hong Kyung-pyo was quoted as saying.

KT and LGU+, a mobile carrier, jointly developed a new quantum cryptographic technology in June last year to win approval from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an international telecommunication technology standardization governing body, as ITU's international standard for quantum cryptography communication networks.

KOREN, capable of quantum encryption and decryption, will be used by organizations in the government, financial, defense and other local administrative sectors that handle sensitive information. The quantum network will be utilized as a testbed to demonstrate new information and communication technology (ICT) as well as other communication equipment.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

KT selected as operator of state agency's test quantum cryptography network

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