Tokyo, October 7, 2024 – TOPPAN Digital Inc. , a TOPPAN Group company and wholly owned subsidiary of TOPPAN Holdings Inc. , the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), and ISARA Corporation (ISARA) have developed SecureBridge, a smart card system capable of supporting both currently used public-key cryptography and post-quantum cryptography (PQC) that is secure against attacks from quantum computers.

The three organizations have been collaborating on research to equip smart cards with PQC since April 2021. They have now updated the PQC CARD developed in October 2022 and the private certificate authority to support a digital certificate (hybrid certificate) that facilitates authentication via both PQC and current public-key cryptography.

The effectiveness of the system has been confirmed by applying it to user authentication on the Healthcare Long-term INtegrity and Confidentiality protection System (H-LINCOS),³ which is implemented on a quantum cryptography network testbed operated by NICT.

TOPPAN Digital, NICT, and ISARA will harness the technology to propel efforts focused on driving practical use of increasingly advanced quantum-secure cloud technologies that enable the secure communication, storage, and use of highly sensitive information in the future.

A part of this work was performed for Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI) Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), "Promoting Application of Advanced Quantum Technologies to Social Challenges" (Project management agency: QST).