Banks from France and Singapore have successfully tested a banking communication system resistant to quantum attacks.
Pioneering Experimentation Against Quantum Threat
On November 7, 2024, in Singapore, the technical teams from the BDF and MAS completed a series of groundbreaking tests. Using a specially developed plugin for Microsoft Outlook, the two institutions succeeded in exchanging emails secured by post-quantum cryptography, a first in the international banking sector. This experimentation is based on the standards of the American National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), ensuring compatibility with existing infrastructures. Denis Beau, first vice-governor of the BDF, emphasizes that "these results reassure us about our ability to make our inter-institutional communications resilient."
Technical Challenges and International Cooperation
The implementation of this new technology raises several major challenges. Post-quantum encryption keys are significantly larger than their classical counterparts, necessitating an adaptation of existing infrastructures. The technical report published by MAS highlights the lack of standards for hybridizing PQC algorithms with existing systems, a major obstacle to overcome. To address these issues, France and Singapore are intensifying their collaboration. The two countries are actively participating in the Leap project of the Bank for International Settlements, aiming to develop PQC solutions for international payment networks.
Future Plans
Singapore has launched a co-financing program to encourage the development of PQC use cases, while France is strengthening its investments in quantum research. The French-Singaporean teams are already planning the next phase of their research, targeting the integration of PQC into real-time payment systems and central bank digital currencies infrastructures.
The first successful testing of a post-quantum security system marks the beginning of a transformation of banking security systems, previously vulnerable to future quantum computing capabilities.
