KT has unveiled a future network security vision to counter security threats in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.
KT said Friday that it presented its "E2E Quantum Security" strategy in a special session at the Korea Information and Communications Society Summer Conference, held from the 17th to the 19th at the Haevichi Hotel & Resort in Jeju.
The Korea Information and Communications Society Summer Conference is an event where experts from industry, academia, and research institutions share the latest information and communications technology (ICT) research achievements and innovative technologies. At KT's special session held on the 19th, Jung Je-min, vice president of KT's Network AI Research Division, served as presenter and explained changes in the network security environment driven by the spread of AI and quantum technology.
"As AI is used for vulnerability detection and attack automation, the methods of cyberattacks are rapidly advancing," Jung said. "With more cases of attackers using AI to find network vulnerabilities faster and automatically change attack methods, the limitations of relying on existing security systems alone are growing."
He also cited the advancement of quantum computing technology as a new security threat. The public key cryptography system widely used today is designed so that anyone can encrypt data, but only specific users can decrypt it. However, the emergence of high-performance quantum computers in the future raises the possibility that data encrypted by existing methods could be decrypted. This means there is a need to prepare for so-called "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks. KT's proposed E2E Quantum Security is a future network security vision that applies quantum security technology not only to data transmission segments but also across major infrastructure including network equipment, AI data centers, and cloud systems. The key is to protect not just a single point in the communications network, but the entire process through which data is generated, moved, stored, used, and deleted.
Through this, KT expects to build an integrated security system encompassing transmission segments, network equipment, and data domains, and to improve the speed of responding to cyberattacks and security stability. In addition to AI and quantum security, the special session addressed various security issues related to communications network operations. Discussions included security vulnerabilities and wireless attack techniques in 5G and LTE mobile communications environments, security issues that can arise in the process of configuring devices, wireless protocols, and services, zero-trust-based security systems, and the security strategies of telecommunications operators in the AI era.
