Hancom Group affiliate HancomWITH is set to aggressively target the post-quantum cryptography (PQC) market.
HancomWITH announced on the 13th that its subsidiary, SoftForum's "IQNUS Crypto v1.0" cryptographic module has passed the National Intelligence Service's cryptographic module verification (KCMVP). This cryptographic module is the first unverified cryptographic module in South Korea to include algorithms selected as post-quantum cryptography standards by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and through this verification, it has proven its technology and stability.
Post-quantum cryptography is gaining attention as a technology that can proactively respond to the threat that quantum computers pose to current cryptographic systems. This is particularly highlighted by Google's recent announcement regarding its 105-qubit quantum computer chip "Willow," which solved a problem that would take existing supercomputers 10 septillion (10 to the power of 24) years in just 5 minutes. As the arrival of the quantum computing era accelerates, the importance of post-quantum cryptography is becoming even more pronounced.
The government has established a "Post-Quantum Cryptography Master Plan" to transition the current cryptographic system to post-quantum cryptography by 2035, aiming to complete the development and standardization of Korean-style post-quantum cryptography (KpqC) by 2029. In this context, HancomWITH is strengthening cooperation with its subsidiary SoftForum and expanding its projects applying post-quantum cryptography technology, focusing on key industrial sectors such as finance, healthcare, and defense.
HancomWITH has already introduced the communication segment cryptographic solution "Hancom xConnect v4.0" and structured/unstructured data security solution "Hancom xDB v5.0," applying post-quantum cryptography technology across various sectors such as public services, finance, and insurance. In the future, they plan to introduce post-quantum cryptography into private certification and simple certification solutions to enter the authentication security market.
Song Sang-yeop, CEO of HancomWITH, noted, "I hope that through our subsidiary's cryptographic modules, we can securely protect critical information from future security threats in various areas that require high security, such as national and public institutions, financial sectors, and corporations."