Electronic passport security for the quantum computer era – Electronics Weekly
28th November 2022
To defend against quantum computer based hacking, Infineon and partners have revealed an electronic passport demonstrator that meets the security requirements of the quantum computing era, claims Infineon.
“Today we are launching the encryption procedures which will be needed to repel quantum computer attacks of tomorrow,” said company head of identification products Maurizio Skerlj. “Working together with our collaboration partners at the German Federal Printing Office [Bundesdruckerei] and Fraunhofer AISEC, we have succeeded in implementing quantum-resistant encryption procedures and making them available for use in practice.”
Infineon’s contribution is a security controller IC, and the demonstration involves contactless data transfer between the electronic passport and a border checkpoint terminal. Based on the a version of the EAC (‘extended access control) protocol, it also secures biometric data during authentication, conventional attacks are repelled at the same time, and it is compatibe with existing systems.
“The core of our demonstrator uses the cryptographic methods Dilithium and Kyber, which the US national standardisation institute NIST selected in July 2022 after a worldwide competition for post-quantum cryptography,” said Fraunhofer AISEC’s Professor Marian Margraf. “Based on that, we developed protocols for the passport that were then subjected to a further independent security evaluation.”
Fraunhofer AISEC led the project, called ‘PoQuID’ and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. “In the process, much emphasis was placed on participation in international standardisation bodies in order to ensure that the solution can also be implemented worldwide,” said Infineon.
The demonstrator will be at the Trustech payment and identification exhibition in this week, on Infoneon’s stand: 5.2 G035.
Tagged with: Fraunhofer Identity Infineon quantum security
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
*
*
Download the Elektra Awards 2022 media pack and book your sponsorship package to be part of the most prestigious awards event celebrating its 20th anniversary this year!
Get the media pack »
Get our news, blogs and comments straight to your inbox! Sign up for the Electronics Weekly newsletters: Mannerisms, Gadget Master and the Daily and Weekly roundups.
Find out more »
Read our special supplement celebrating 60 years of Electronics Weekly and looking ahead to the future of the industry.
Read the Electronics Weekly @ 60 supplement » 
Read the first ever Electronics Weekly online: 7th September 1960. We’ve scanned the very first edition so you can enjoy it.
Read the very first edition »
Electronics Weekly teams up with RS Grass Roots to highlight the brightest young electronic engineers in the UK today.
Find out more »
Read our special supplement celebrating 60 years of Electronics Weekly and looking ahead to the future of the industry.
Read the Electronics Weekly @ 60 supplement »
Read the first ever Electronics Weekly online: 7th September 1960. We’ve scanned the very first edition so you can enjoy it.
Read the very first edition »
View All Events
Tune into this Xilinx interview: Responding to platform-based embedded design
Listen to the interview »
Tune into this podcast to hear from Chetan Khona (Director Industrial, Vision, Healthcare & Sciences at Xilinx) about how Xilinx and the semiconductor industry is responding to customer demands.
Listen to the interview »
By using this website you are consenting to the use of cookies. Electronics Weekly is owned by Metropolis International Group Limited, a member of the Metropolis Group; you can view our privacy and cookies policy here.