The world is immersed in preparing for quantum cryptography, and India cannot afford to be left behind.
Stressing on the need for the country to have homegrown technology in place to protect its data, Electronics and IT Secretary S Krishnan said India can’t depend on external solutions considering the sensitivity of information to be handled.
Speaking after releasing a whitepaper on Quantum Cyber Readiness by CERT-In and SISI, a cybersecurity firm, Krishnan expressed concern on the global race to develop quantum computers, which are perceived to be capable of breaking any encryption that exists presently.
Underscoring the need for cybersecurity awareness, Krishnan said attention must be paid to this space vis-à-vis other countries.
An Executive Order issued by the US on January 16, 2025, formally ordered governmental departments to start post-quantum cryptography transitions within specified timeframes (60-270 days).
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“There has to be greater awareness of making sure that we pay adequate attention to the space so that capacity is developed in the country, because this is one space where we cannot depend on anybody else; this is one area where we must have fully homegrown solutions, both hardware and software,” he said.
The paper on Quantum Cyber Readiness stated that any data requiring protection beyond 2030 should be considered at immediate risk.
“Nation-states and sophisticated threat actors are likely already harvesting and storing encrypted data, anticipating future quantum decryption capabilities,” the report said.
In March, the government approved the National Quantum Mission (NQM) with an outlay of around ₹6,000 crore, spread over 8 years.
Krishnan said the Ministry of Electronics and IT had been allocated around ₹1,000 crore; of which ₹513 crore had already been apportioned for various projects on quantum technology.
The minister said “serious work” needed to be done in the space of quantum computers and cryptography even before the use of quantum computers.
“The basic issue is that even if you have one computer, which is a quantum computer, which is capable of breaking cryptography, then everybody else is at risk,” he said, adding that cryptographic standards must be up to the mark for data protection.
“So, even in a classical computer, you must have work being done on post-quantum cryptography. Everyone who uses computers needs to be aware of this, and needs to have a cryptographic tool that can protect their communication, data and everything else from a post-quantum or quantum world threat,” Krishnan said.
The report said organisations must understand that the quantum threat clock started ticking the moment sensitive data was first transmitted or stored using quantum-vulnerable encryption.
“The threat is immediate for any information that must remain confidential beyond the estimated arrival of cryptographically relevant quantum computers,” it said.
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