Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator has signed a pact with four lenders, a local digital services firm, and a local technology firm to study solutions to address cybersecurity threats posed by quantum computing.
They will collaborate and study the application in financial services of quantum key distribution, which can help financial institutions protect the exchange of cryptographic keys, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) says in a statement on August 15.
Its partners in the pact are local lenders DBS Bank Ltd, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd and United Overseas Bank, the UK’s HSBC Holdings plc, digital service provider SPTel, and SpeQtral, which specialises in quantum computing technologies.
“Quantum computing technology has been developing rapidly and has demonstrated potential to break commonly used cryptography and encryption algorithms. This poses a major cybersecurity concern,” the central bank says.
MAS and the banks will experiment with quantum key distribution solutions jointly provided by SPTel and SpeQtral in three areas: proof-of-concept, validation of security properties, and enhancing technical competencies.
