Key takeaways
- PQShield has been named a supporting member of the Cyber Research Consortium (CRC), which is receiving a grant from Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
- NEDO is funding the CRC for a major project to enhance Japan’s defenses against cyber-attacks, improve its situational awareness, and establish a common cybersecurity infrastructure.
- As part of the CRC, PQShield has been subcontracted to design and deliver PQC implementations and protocols across Japan, and to conduct R&D towards the ongoing global development of PQC standards.
Delivering post-quantum cryptography across Japan
We are proud to announce that PQShield has joined the Cyber Research Consortium (CRC) in Japan to participate in its program with the Japanese government’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to enhance Japan’s defense against quantum-enabled cyber-attacks.
As a supporting member of the CRC, we will design and deliver PQC protocols that can be implemented across Japan’s technology supply chain, and supporting PQC implementation while contributing to the ongoing global PQC standardization process. NEDO is providing a funding grant to CRC to support this project.
Supporting PQC implementation across Japan
The publication of NIST’s finalized PQC standards in August 2024 gave businesses, governments, and institutions globally a defined route to modernizing their cryptography, safeguarding their data, and protecting themselves from future quantum attacks.
In July 2024, to kick-start this process in Japan, NEDO announced that research into PQC implementation technologies would take place as part of its “Enhancement of situational awareness and defense capabilities to counter cyber-attacks”, a newly-established project within Japan’s K Program funded by NEDO and delivered by the CRC.
The goal of this research is to achieve advanced functionality in quantum-resistant cryptography, such as ring signatures, threshold signatures, and threshold encryption. The K Program is an R&D initiative that builds on the collaboration between public and private organizations in Japan to investigate critical technologies for civil and defense purposes.
PQShield’s role within the CRC
PQShield has been named a supporting member of the CRC under its NEDO grant, and will be subcontracted to deliver designs and protocols for PQC implementation technologies. Our Lead Cryptography Researcher Dr Shuichi Katsumata, based in Japan, will lead the company’s work under the CRC.
As part of the CRC, PQShield has been subcontracted to deliver two major projects for NEDO:
- Design new post-quantum cryptographic primitives.
- Work with AIST to construct protocols that enable existing non-PQC protocols to migrate towards NIST’s latest standards.
Both projects will contribute to the ongoing effort to coordinate robust, global standards for PQC. All results will be published in academic papers, the primitives we have designed will be submitted to NIST’s standardization call for multi-party threshold cryptography, and the protocols constructed with AIST will be shared with the Internet Engineering Task Force to become public RFCs.
Collaborating across industry and academia
PQShield is working directly with AIST on the design and standardization of new PQC protocols. Additional support for this project is being provided by CRC subcontractors SCU Inc., Mitsubishi Electronics, and The University of Tokyo.
The full list of participants in this project is:
- FFRI Security Inc.
- Preferred Networks Inc
- Fujitsu
- NTT
- Powder Keg Technologies
- Ricerca Security
- Mitsubishi Electronics
- Japan Electronics
- Hitachi
- Toppan
- PQShield
- Secafy
- SCU Inc
- Yokohama National University
- Waseda University
- Keio University
- The University of Tokyo
- AIST
- Iwasaki Gakuen
Advancing global post-quantum cryptography
Through this collaborative project we aim to enhance the functionality and security of the technology supply chain across Japan and globally. This includes planned R&D into the difficulty of the lattice problems PQC is based in, opening up avenues to understand the fundamental security of current cryptography standards.
PQShield already has a strong presence in Japan, with partners including Mirise Technologies, Sumitomo Electric and NTT Data Group Corporation – the NEDO grant supports the company’s growing presence in the market and the expansion of its local team.
Industry perspectives
Dr Ali El Kaafarani, founder and CEO of PQShield, said:
“Securing critical infrastructure from quantum computers requires strong collaboration between governments, universities and the private sector, and this project is an ambitious and necessary step to protect against the quantum threat. Japan is an important market for PQShield and plays a critical role in the global technology supply chain. We are pleased to be working directly with NEDO and the government of Japan to help implement PQC across the country and protect against the cyber threats of the future.”
Tsutomu Matsumoto, AIST Fellow / Director of CPSEC said:
“The implementation of post-quantum cryptography across Japan is extremely important, and updating existing protocols to support NIST’s latest standards will play a significant role in this process. We’re pleased to support this vital mission and look forward to collaborating with fellow CRC subcontractors, including PQShield, to design and standardize new protocols which can become public RFCs.”
This project with the CRC and NEDO will run from 2024 to 2026, with the final standardization documents to be delivered in 2026.
Learn More About PQC Implementation
Interested in learning more about PQC implementation or how PQShield supports organizations adopting post-quantum cryptography? Get in touch with our team to discuss your migration strategy or request a copy of this press release in Japanese.
About AIST
The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), one of the largest public research organizations in Japan, focuses on the creation and practical realization of technologies useful to Japanese industry and society, and on “bridging” the gap between innovative technological seeds and commercialization.
For this, AIST is organized into 5 departments and 2 centers that bring together core technologies to exert its comprehensive strength.
AIST, as a core and pioneering existence of the national innovation system, has about 2300 researchers doing research and development at 12 research bases across the country, based on the national strategies formulated bearing in mind the changing environment regarding innovation.
AIST is also actively building a global network by, for example, signing memorandums of understanding for comprehensive research cooperation (MOUs) with major research institutes around the world.
About NEDO
NEDO, the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, is a Japanese national research and development agency that creates innovation by promoting technological development necessary for realization of a sustainable society.
NEDO acts as an innovation accelerator to contribute to the resolution of social issues by developing and demonstrating high-risk innovative technologies having practical application. Learn more about NEDO here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PQC implementation?
PQC implementation is the process of integrating post-quantum cryptography into existing systems, applications and infrastructure to protect against future quantum computing threats.
What is the NEDO program?
NEDO’s program supports research and development that strengthens Japan’s cybersecurity capabilities, including the development and deployment of post-quantum cryptography technologies.
What is PQShield’s role in the CRC?
PQShield is a supporting member of the Cyber Research Consortium, designing post-quantum cryptographic primitives and protocols while contributing to international standardization efforts.
Why is PQC implementation important?
Implementing post-quantum cryptography enables organizations to prepare for future quantum attacks by replacing vulnerable cryptographic algorithms with quantum-resistant alternatives.
How can PQShield help with PQC implementation?
PQShield provides quantum-safe cryptography software, hardware IP and consultancy services to help organizations assess, plan and implement secure post-quantum cryptography migration strategies.