Singapore, 8 February 2024 – IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NCS, which outlines plans to co-develop and provide end-to-end quantum-safe and privacy-enhancing services for public agencies and enterprises in Singapore. The MOU comes at a crucial time as data protected using public-key encryption today could be vulnerable and decrypted by a cryptographically relevant quantum computer in the future.

IBM and NCS also co-authored a whitepaper “Managing Risks and Opportunities for Quantum Safe Development” to help guide organisations on their quantum-safe journeys by bringing together comprehensive assessment services and remediation efforts. The paper highlights how cryptographic technologies currently used throughout government and industry could be vulnerable to “harvest now, decrypt later” threats as adversaries may steal encrypted files and store them until more advanced quantum computers emerge.

Colin Tan, General Manager and Technology Leader of IBM Singapore said, “At IBM, we pride ourselves on being a leader in quantum-safe technology development. We have played a crucial role in the development of quantum-safe algorithms that are now being evaluated by the US government’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). And as we are confident in these algorithms, some of our latest enterprise infrastructure systems already come with quantum-safe cryptography to help organisations stay ahead of emerging threats.

“We are pleased to today announce the signing of this MOU between IBM and NCS, a technology services firm with a strong track record in the Asia Pacific region, and we are looking forward to helping Singapore organisations safeguard their data and modernise their cryptography for the quantum era.”

Foo Siang-tse, Senior Partner, Cyber, NCS said, “We firmly believe that the time is now for organisations to embark on a quantum-safe journey. In line with our commitment to build digital resilience for enterprises and governments, NCS has been assessing, developing, and evaluating quantum-safe solutions over the past few years. Through this MOU with IBM, a company at the forefront of quantum-safe technology, we aim to enable organisations to plan and execute their strategies for remediation. Clients can also leverage NCS’ expertise and end-to-end capabilities in transforming organisations’ security posture, processes and governance, to secure their organisations for the quantum future.”

According to the whitepaper, some of the applications and systems used today in energy, transportation, finance, and government infrastructure sectors have product lifetimes of 15-30 years, with even longer requirements for data protection and privacy. With quantum computing technology rapidly advancing, organisations will need to migrate a large number of cryptographic systems to new quantum-safe solutions. Data that is not protected using quantum-safe security will be at risk, leaving organisations vulnerable to future threats. Most organisations, however, still do not have a clear view of the cryptographic technologies used in their IT operations today.  This is why starting the assessment and transition today is so critical, even if a cryptographically relevant quantum computer may be several years away.

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