BTQ Technologies, a Vancouver-based global quantum technology company, has announced that its post-quantum cryptography scheme, Preon, has been selected by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the first round for consideration in their Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) standardization process.
Preon is a post-quantum signature protocol that enables a verifier to be convinced of a prover’s secret knowledge, and that boasts of being resilient against classical and quantum attacks, quintessential to the quantum solutions developed by BTQ.
Preon features a small key size, requiring only tens of bytes for both secret and public keys, which is significantly less than other signature schemes, the company explained in a release. The system assumes only the need for a collision-resistant hash function, and supports features like selective-reveal or threshold signature due to its construction based on zero-knowledge proof.
NIST’s PQC standardization process, which started in 2016, aims to select public-key cryptographic algorithms capable of protecting sensitive government information in the foreseeable future, including after the advent of quantum computers.
So far, several algorithms have been standardized, including public-key encapsulation mechanism (KEM) CRYSTALS-KYBER and digital signatures CRYSTALS-Dilithium, FALCON, and SPHINCS+.
“Preon’s selection in the PQC standardization process underscores the depth of our innovative work,” said chief executive officer of BTQ Olivier Roussy Newton. “Our dedicated team of researchers has created a highly efficient and secure cryptographic scheme. Preon’s compact key size, fast generation, and flexible functionality provide a powerful tool against potential quantum threats, reinforcing our commitment to safeguarding digital infrastructures worldwide.”
Preon’s co-authors include Hon Hai Research Institute, the research arm of global leader Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (Foxconn).