Malaysia leads ASEAN in post-quantum security readiness

The ranking reflects the country’s preparations to protect government data, financial transactions, digital identities, communications systems and essential services from future cybersecurity threats posed by advances in quantum computing.

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia is the only ASEAN country placed in Group 1, the highest of five tiers, for readiness to transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC), according to the “ASEAN Post-Quantum Cryptography Readiness 2026: An Empirical Assessment of ASEAN-10” report released by SITG-Consulting on September 1.

The Malaysian National Security Council (MKN) said the ranking reflects the country’s preparations to protect government data, financial transactions, digital identities, communications systems and essential services from future cybersecurity threats posed by advances in quantum computing, BusinessToday.com.my reported on September 15.

Malaysia’s preparations include a national PQC migration plan, PQC technology pilot programmes and awareness initiatives for agencies involved in the country’s National Critical Information Infrastructure (NCII).

The MKN said the government will continue strengthening the national PQC migration plan to ensure critical infrastructure remains secure and resilient as quantum technology advances. The next phase will focus on closer cooperation with NCII lead agencies, NCII operators and industry stakeholders.

PQC refers to cryptographic methods designed to protect information against the risk that future quantum computers could break some widely used encryption algorithms. Transitioning to PQC is therefore considered an important part of long-term cybersecurity planning./.

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