The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that its signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with banks and technology partners for quantum security collaboration and study the application of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) in financial services. QKD can help financial institutions (FIs) protect the exchange of cryptographic keys to address the cybersecurity threats posed by quantum computing.
Banks and partners include DBS, HSBC, OCBC, UOB, SPTel and SpeQtral. In the coming months, MAS and participating banks will experiment with QKD solutions jointly provided by SPTel and SpeQtral in the following areas:
a. Conduct QKD proof-of-concept sandbox on financial sector use cases to evaluate its viability, effectiveness and applicability to financial services, and determine the feasibility of using QKD for quantum-safe communications within the financial sector.
b. Validate the security properties of QKD, such as detecting eavesdropping attempts and preventing unauthorized access or tampering of QKD transmissions. This will help to verify QKD’s capability to provide robust security for sensitive data transfers, and enhance trust in its deployment within the sector.
c. Enhance technical competencies through knowledge exchange to equip MoU participants with the skillsets to support the transition towards adopting quantum security solutions when they are commercially available.
Vincent Loy, assistant managing director for Technology at MAS, said in a statement: “The proof-of-concept trials will help MAS and financial institutions better understand QKD’s potential impact on operations and address challenges early. These technology trials can also inform and shape technology and cyber risk management policies towards quantum-proofing our financial systems.”