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Challenges and opportunities arising from the development of quantum technologies

09/05/2024

With the advancement of technology, smart security chip products have evolved from the most common forms like bank cards and telecom cards into various other formats, now integrated into mobile phones, smart home devices, consumer electronics, smart devices, and automobiles. These chips protect the security of identities and transactions through secure encryption algorithms and programs. However, the rapid development of quantum computing technology has introduced new challenges. Some previously considered safe algorithms, such as RSA and ECC, have been proven vulnerable to quantum computers. As a result, industries with high-security demands are paying close attention to research on post-quantum cryptography (PQC).

【Background of the Development of Quantum Technology】

On August 13, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) officially released the world’s first three post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards, with a fourth algorithm standard scheduled for official release by the end of this year. Among the three PQC encryption algorithms published, the key encapsulation algorithm KYBER (now renamed ML-KEM) and the signature verification algorithm Dilithium (now renamed ML-DSA) can replace the asymmetric algorithms commonly used in current smart security chips. The quantum migration work needs to be formally planned and initiated.

Post-quantum algorithms, as the name suggests, are algorithms designed to resist quantum computing attacks, thereby protecting the security of cryptographic products. Compared to commonly used algorithms in smart security chips such as ECC256 and RSA2048, post-quantum algorithms offer significantly higher security levels. However, this increase in security comes with challenges, such as slower execution speeds and greater space and memory requirements. Under the same hardware conditions, existing experimental data shows that post-quantum algorithms result in key and signature sizes that are tens to hundreds of times larger than those of traditional asymmetric algorithms, with encryption, decryption, and signature speeds being several to dozens of times slower. Smart security chip products are widely used in NFC (Near Field Communication) applications, such as public transportation and contactless financial payments, where transaction speed is crucial. Therefore, high-frequency, large-capacity, and high-speed transmission rate hardware will be essential for future security products supporting quantum migration.

With the release of the PQC standard, quantum migration work will follow. Focusing on smart security chip products, quantum migration means chip upgrade, chip OS upgrade, API upgrade and application upgrade. For products that have already been issued and are still within the validity period, there are implementation difficulties for chip upgrades, but remotely executing upgrades for the latter three parts is the optimal solution for the quantum migration transition period. PQC research is also iterating with the development of quantum computers, and an algorithm will be cracked maybe in thirty years or maybe next week. Software design architectures that support agile features can better support anti-quantum algorithm migration requirements.

As more and more security products become integrated into people’s daily lives and work, the development of applications based on smart security chips will become an essential skill that more programmers should master. This presents challenges for the secure application development environment: how to more conveniently and intelligently assist programmers in quickly developing appropriate applications while ensuring the security of both the applications and the entire system. This could involve support for more programming languages, online debugging and verification simulation environments, AI-powered assistance, and other tools.

Based on the above reasons, we believe that an excellent future-proof smart security chip product needs to have the following characteristics:

 

WATCHDATA has focused on smart security chip products for 30 years and officially launched the TGoMOS® multi-application micro operating system in 2021. During the design of TGoMOS®, the needs of technological developments in the quantum era were fully considered, providing customers with advanced digital infrastructure protected by post-quantum algorithms.