On the 19th, SK Telecom announced that it confirmed the name of the quantum consortium of representative companies in South Korea as ‘X Quantum’ and officially launched its first commercial product, marking the commencement of substantial activities.
‘X Quantum’ is an alliance established in March by SKT and companies that hold core technologies and components in the quantum field. Members include SKT as well as small and medium enterprises leading Korea’s quantum industry, such as SOS Lab, XGATE, Woolyro, KCS, Nokia, and IDQ Korea.
The member companies, including SKT, plan to expand their activities in the quantum field to ensure that the officially confirmed name ‘X Quantum’ symbolizes the competitiveness of South Korea’s quantum industry in the future.
The name ‘X Quantum’ implies that quantum technologies can converge across various domains to create new solutions and experiences, embodying the innovative capabilities of quantum technologies that serve as the foundation for all industries.
SKT also highlighted that this name encompasses the identity of the ‘Quantum Frontier,’ which plays a role in pioneering new markets as the global quantum sector continues to open.
Additionally, the brand image of ‘X Quantum’ represents a form that intersects and penetrates, symbolizing a new direction extending into an era. It conveys that leading quantum enterprises in South Korea have come together to create synergy.
With the confirmation of its official name, ‘X Quantum’ has unveiled its first commercial product. This product is the next-generation quantum encryption chip ‘Q-HSM’, jointly showcased by SKT and member company KCS.
‘Q-HSM’ is an updated product from the quantum encryption chip exhibited by SKT and KCS at the 2023 MWC, now incorporating post-quantum cryptography (PQC) technology.
Whereas the previously exhibited quantum encryption chip provided integrated functions of quantum random number generation (QRNG) and encryption communication, the new quantum chip ‘Q-HSM’ is the world’s first to simultaneously implement hardware-based QRNG, physical unclonable function (PUF) technology, and software-based PQC encryption communication technology.
QRNG is a device that continuously generates ‘pure randomness’ that is unpredictable and devoid of patterns by utilizing quantum characteristics, used to create robust encryption keys. PQC is an encryption method introduced to address security problems in existing encryption systems that can arise due to advancements in quantum computing technology.
For PQC, SKT has independently developed PQC algorithms based on the FIPS-203 (CRYSTALS-Kyber) and FIPS-204 (CRYSTALS-Dilithium) standard documents from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States.
SKT has commercialized both the secure QKD technology and now the PQC technology with ‘Q-HSM’, and plans to introduce a hybrid product that integrates both PQC and QKD technologies soon. They also aim to consistently enhance their technological leadership to meet various user demands, including security levels, network environments, and costs, while expanding the quantum ecosystem.
The quantum consortium ‘X Quantum’ will unveil and commercialize the quantum encryption chip ‘Q-HSM’ at the ‘Quantum Korea’ exhibition, the largest in South Korea’s quantum sector, held at KINTEX in Goyang city from June 25 to 27. They aim to integrate ‘Q-HSM’ into various business areas such as drones, CCTV, home networks, and low-power IoT devices.
In the future, ‘X Quantum’ plans to develop joint products based on the quantum technologies and products held by its member companies and to offer various quantum solution packages to explore new markets. Collaboratively, they will pursue public projects or national policy initiatives, as well as joint participation in B2B projects through marketing and finding business opportunities.
They will also participate in domestic and international exhibitions, showcasing various members’ quantum encryption products at the SKT booth during the ‘Quantum Korea 2024’ exhibition. They plan to jointly participate in global quantum exhibitions held later this year to promote ‘X Quantum’s products and solutions.
Han Min-yong, Chief Digital Officer of SKT’s Global Solutions Office, stated, “With the alliance formally agreeing on the name ‘X Quantum’ and unveiling its first commercial product, we are entering the mainstream phase of our activities. We aim to introduce unprecedented quantum products and solutions alongside our members so that ‘X Quantum’ can represent South Korea’s quantum ecosystem,”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr