Telefónica Tech and IBM collaborate on quantum-safe technology

IBM and Telefónica Tech, the digital arm of Spain's telecommunications group Telefónica, have announced a collaboration agreement. This is a collaboration to develop security solutions that can prevent the threats posed by future quantum computers, which could be capable of breaking existing cryptographic systems.

Quantum computing can offer more computational power, but it presents networking security obstacles, countless encryption vulnerabilities, and even dangers for data encrypted with classical algorithms. While no quantum computer capable of taking advantage of this reality is yet available, existing data may be vulnerable to cybercriminals who may harvest this information for decryption in the future.

IBM has a quantum safe software and research toolset with a holistic approach to protect against anticipated quantum threats. IBM Guardium Quantum-Safe, which is a part of the larger IBM Guardium Data Security Center, increases organizational visibility and cryptography management to reduce risks, improve prioritization and remediation processes, and strengthen overall security. IBMs Guardium Key Lifecycle Manager also provides centralized, secure and scalable management of encryption keys.

IBM Quantum Safe Explorer and IBM Quantum Safe Remediator - enable organizations to identify cryptographic vulnerabilities in their code, assess quantum-safe algorithm performance, and deploy quantum-safe proxies to support these solutions.

Under this collaboration, IBM's quantum-safe technology will be combined with Telefónica Tech's managed cybersecurity services, designed to deliver comprehensive security solutions for companies and public agencies in the face of new post-quantum risks.

The solutions designed will be purpose-fit to protect critical data against the risk of being decrypted by quantum computers, following new 'quantum-safe' cryptographic standards set by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Notably, IBM has collaborated on two-thirds of the three standards recently ratified as post-quantum cryptography standards to safeguard data in the quantum age.

Quantum computing offers new challenges and opportunities for cybersecurity,” said Raquel Ruiz Lozano, global head of strategic partnerships at Telefónica Tech. This partnership with IBM allows us to work towards minimizing risk in a post-quantum world using IBM’s quantum-safe technology, so that our clients have the necessary secure solutions to keep their critical data safe.”

Adolfo Hernández Pulido, managing director of technology for Telefónica at IBM, said organisations need start to assess their cryptographic systems and start switching to quantum-safe standards as 'Quantum computing is not vintage, it is here and now'. He said he was proud of IBM’s commitment to the development of novel post-quantum cryptography algorithms and its leadership in quantum-safe technologies and services, noting, “We are excited to formalize this collaboration with Telefónica Tech focused on quantum safety.”

With the goal of empowering Telefónica Tech professionals in their proactive risk assessments, the entry of IBM’s quantum-safe technologies into Telefónica Tech’s existing service offerings aims to allow organizations to diagnose and remediate any cryptographic vulnerabilities in their systems.

Throughout this collaboration, Telefónica Tech will also assist organizations in the process of migrating towards new cryptographic standards, protocols, or algorithms, guaranteeing resilience and agility against the cybersecurity threat that quantum computing entails.

In addition, the cooperation involves the creation of a joint use case office that will focus on areas of primary importance, such as communications encryption, the need for adaptation to new secure algorithms, and the protection of critical environments.

IBM's infrastructure has been deployed at the headquarters of Telefónica in Distrito Telefónica (Madrid, Spain) as part of this initiative, promoting the development of business. This infrastructure leverages an IBM LinuxONE system hardened with end-to-end encryption, embedding new quantum-safe technology alongside IBM Storage and other security features to safeguard master and operational keys.