Hi All
"BDF and MAS recognise email as a critical communication tool for exchanging sensitive and confidential information. Furthermore, as central banks, email is one of the main forms of communication. Hence, securing these communications is paramount to prevent unauthorised access and data breaches, making safeguarding emails a crucial task."
The joint BDF-MAS initiative trialled its first use of quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms for the signing and encryption of emails. The goal was to strengthen the current level of security for electronic communications in the future, while retaining compatibility with existing Internet standards, technologies and communication channels.
"This experiment not only demonstrates the practical feasibility of these new security methods but also their effectiveness in widely-adopted application environments."
The experiment used the Microsoft Outlook email client with CryptoNext Security's PQC email plugin. It followed a hybrid approach with signing with RSA, then signing with ML-DSA (Dilithium), to later encrypt with RSA, then with ML-KEM (Kyber).
🧨 Lessons learnt:
🚩 The longer key lengths of CRYSTALS-Dilithium and CRYSTALS-Kyber may not have a significant impact on low-transaction applications, such as email usage. Further research is warranted to assess the potential downstream effects of longer key lengths on cryptographic security in high-transaction financial applications.
🚩 Existing email plugins, policies, or anti-malware systems might modify message headers or block emails due to unrecognised formats. Some systems may even issue warnings to recipients about unknown senders.
🚩 Processing and verification by the email client applications depend on the plugin.
The experiment report is very informative and full of details, including snapshots of all the installation steps and evidences. It is worth a read.
A really interesting report and a demonstration of practical collaboration in understanding all the work ahead of us to transition to a quantum-safe economy.
Press note: https://lnkd.in/dJrnhyWY
Experiment report: https://lnkd.in/dVhvsqfK
Thanks to Daniel Pujazón for bringing this to our attention
Regards
Caute_Cautim
