Government to adopt hybrid post-quantum and quantum key distribution by 2030
Sept. 14, 2025 –
On the 3rd of last month at the Quantum Campus of Kookmin University in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. On that day, the ‘Quantum Security Innovation Meeting’ hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT brought together representatives from the three major telecommunications companies and quantum-related enterprises. Jo Ji-hoon, an executive at Samsung SDS, who served as a presenter, stated, “The ‘Harvest Now, Decrypt Later (HNDL)’ attack, where encrypted data is hacked first and then decrypted once quantum technology advances, poses a significant threat to the nation,” adding, “Preparations are urgently needed, starting with the public sector, which holds a large amount of long-term stored data.”
“Steal First, Decrypt Later”
HNDL, which sometimes uses “Hack” instead of “Harvest” to mean stealing, is a strategy gaining attention from hackers ahead of the quantum technology era. Even data that cannot be decrypted now due to encryption is stolen first, with the plan to decrypt it once advanced quantum computers emerge. While it may seem like a simple strategy, experts warn it could pose a significant threat in the near future. Its characteristics include being covert and prolonged, making it difficult to detect. Since the intercepted data is not used immediately but stored long-term, there are no immediate warning signs such as system failures or file corruption. The lack of visible signs means the victim might not even realize they have been hacked.
Hackers exploit network vulnerabilities or infiltrate data storage systems to steal emails, corporate trade secrets, military communications, and other sensitive information, storing them systematically. They await the day when quantum computers can decrypt the encryption protecting these datasets. Experts believe that not only the public keys used in today’s asymmetric encryption for e-commerce but also elliptic curve cryptography, employed in Bitcoin, could be neutralized by quantum computers in the near future.
Preparing with Quantum-Resistant Cryptography and Other Measures
Industry experts believe that encrypted data in the government and financial sectors, which must be stored long-term due to legal or internal policies, will be targets of HNDL attacks. There are concerns that today’s data, considered safe due to encryption, could become a real threat in the near future. Particularly, adversarial nations, including North Korea, are indiscriminately targeting not only government data such as diplomatic and military information but also corporate trade secrets like intellectual property. If these sensitive datasets are decrypted using quantum technology, they could pose a threat to national security...