SKT teams up with local QRNG players to advance into global security market

[Source: SK telecom Co.]

SK telecom Co. (SKT) has joined hands with local hidden champions in advanced quantum random number generator (QRNG) technology to explore business opportunities in global defense and public sectors where demand for high security is required.

Korea’s leading telecommunication company announced on Wednesday that it will work with KCS, Octatco, and Btree to jointly develop network equipment with fortified security using its QRNG chip developed with its subsidiary ID Quantique (IDQ).

SKT first developed QRNG chip along with IDQ in 2020 and installed the random number generator in Samsung’s smartphone Galaxy A Quantum. Then its successors were also embedded in Galaxy Quantum 2 and 3.

Using the QRNG technology, the company works together with mid-sized firms such as KCS, Octatco, and Btree, in different areas, including the internet of things (IoT) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and finance.

Through its teamwork with KCS, SK Telecom aims to develop the quantum crypto chip by embedding the QRNG chip in KE7, an encryption chip for high security for IoT-based devices developed by KCS, a local security and intelligence services provider. KE2 chip acquired the second grade of the Korea Cryptographic Module Validation Program, which was the highest security level a Korean firm has ever achieved. The new crypto chip will be used for defense weapon systems and drones.

Last year, SKT also launched EzQuant, a quantum fingerprint security key, in partnership with Octatco, a biometric security venture firm. The technology is currently used in security systems in public facilities, such as Gyeonggi Provincial Government and Subway Line 8.

In addition, the company works with Btree, a semiconductor design firm, to develop a next-generation QRNG chip, targeting its commercialization in early 2024.

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