[Featured Stock] 'World's First Commercialization' ICTK, MS Making Striking Moves to Secure Quantum Technology

ICTK is showing strong performance. Expectations for quantum computers are rising again in the domestic stock market. Microsoft declared this year as the "Year of Preparing for Quantum Technology," leading to a surge in quantum computer-related stocks in the New York stock market overnight. ICTK became the first in the world to successfully commercialize PUF, which was once considered nearly impossible, and combined PUF technology with Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) to address information security concerns in the quantum computing era.

At 9:32 AM on the 16th, ICTK was trading at 10,050 KRW, up 15.12% from the previous day.

On the 15th (local time), stocks such as D-Wave Quantum (QBTS), Rigetti Computing (RGTI), and Quantum Computing (QUBT) surged more than 30% compared to the previous day in the U.S. stock market. Microsoft announced in a blog post that this year is the "Year of Preparing for Quantum Technology" and unveiled a corporate education program. It expects the pace of quantum research and development to accelerate over the next year.

As interest in quantum computers grows, the government is also focusing on securing leadership in national strategic technologies such as advanced bio and quantum technologies and establishing an industrialization foundation. In the quantum field, a "Five-Year Comprehensive Quantum Science Plan" has been prepared, and large-scale R&D projects, including the development of a 1,000-qubit quantum computer, have been initiated.

Earlier, in August last year, ICTK was finally selected as a participating company in the "Small and Medium Enterprise Technology Innovation Development Project" organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. This project supports technology development costs for two years to enhance technology competitiveness led by the private sector and foster innovative small and medium enterprises.

ICTK is starting the development of a domestically produced PCIe HSM based on PUF (Physically Unclonable Function) equipped with a Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithm. The company plans to develop a competitive domestic solution for both domestic and international markets.

PCIe is a computer bus standard for high-speed data transfer, responsible for communication between various computer components. HSM is a dedicated hardware device that generates, stores, manages, and protects encryption keys, playing a crucial role in security infrastructure.

PCIe-based HSM is a high-performance encryption management solution that can be easily integrated into servers through a high-speed PCIe interface, enabling efficient construction and operation of security infrastructure. Currently, mainly foreign products are used. The development of domestic products is urgently needed. If domestic development succeeds, major demand sectors are expected to include banks and financial institutions, cloud service providers, government, and public institutions.

ICTK CEO Lee Jung-won explained, "As the government recently announced support for development and investment in quantum computing and related fields, demand for quantum cryptography communication technology is expected to continue increasing." He added, "ICTK will lead the quantum security market with domestic technology."

ICTK is one of the fastest-moving leading companies in the quantum security field. It succeeded in developing the Giant 5 (G5) chip with PQC technology applied in collaboration with LG Uplus. This is the world's first case of commercializing a chip applying PUF technology and quantum cryptography technology. Based on the G5 chip, USIM and eSIM have been developed and are already applied to communication devices. It is expected that equipping the chip with PQC algorithms will protect against future quantum computer attacks. In 2022, ICTK signed security chip supply contracts with global big tech companies and global laptop manufacturers. ICTK, as a business partner of the U.S. semiconductor IP company Rambus, held a webinar on November 21 last year covering the features and advantages of VIA, PUF, root of trust, and authentication solutions.

ICTK participated in last year's "Korea International Defense Industry Exhibition (KADEX)" and attracted significant attention with products applying VIA PUF. Company officials stated that senior U.S. Army officials and embassy representatives visited and showed great interest in ICTK's patented technology, "VIA PUF." VIA PUF is a technology applied to security chips that can provide devices with an unclonable root of trust.

ICTK has strengthened networking with military officials and defense contractors through discussions on cooperation centered on PUF technology with major defense companies in Korea and the U.S. The company has attended and participated in various defense industry events, including the U.S. Army's Association of the United States Army (AUSA) defense exhibition. It also held meetings with aerospace defense contractor Lockheed Martin.