Research &Development

The PQC readiness programme prepares Malaysia for the global transition to quantum-resistant encryption by evaluating NIST-selected post-quantum algorithms, assessing their integration into existing digital systems, and establishing migration pathways for government, finance, telecommunications, and cloud services. This includes performance benchmarking, implementation guidelines, and risk assessments to ensure secure adoption across diverse environments. The goal is to build a national posture where critical systems can withstand future quantum decryption threats while maintaining interoperability with international standards.

QKD pilot projects deploy quantum-secured communication links across strategic sites to demonstrate the real-world feasibility of quantum key exchange for high-assurance security applications. These pilots involve establishing fibre-based and free-space QKD channels, integrating trusted nodes, and validating end-to-end key-management workflows with existing network infrastructure. Through collaboration with national telecom operators, financial institutions, and government agencies, the initiative provides evidence-based insights into deployment models, operational costs, and performance expectations for scaling QKD nationwide.

This programme conducts detailed studies to assess how Malaysia’s critical infrastructure—including energy grids, banking networks, transportation systems, water facilities, and government digital services—must be upgraded to remain secure in a post-quantum world. It analyses encryption dependencies, supply-chain risks, communication vulnerabilities, and digital-trust gaps while proposing phased upgrade strategies aligned with national cybersecurity policies. The outcome is a comprehensive blueprint guiding ministries and industry regulators in prioritising investments and adopting quantum-safe protections.

Quantum-resilient governance frameworks define the policies, standards, institutional processes, and regulatory mechanisms necessary to safeguard national digital infrastructure against quantum-enabled threats. This includes drafting quantum-safe security policies, establishing compliance requirements, creating national certification pathways, and outlining roles for agencies, regulators, and private-sector partners. The initiative ensures coordinated governance across sectors and provides Malaysia with a long-term, adaptive framework capable of guiding the country through technological transitions in cryptography and secure communications.

Sector-level quantum threat modelling develops detailed analyses of how quantum computing may disrupt or compromise systems in priority industries such as finance, telecommunications, defence, healthcare, and manufacturing. It maps potential attack vectors, evaluates adversarial capabilities, and quantifies exposure to quantum decryption, spoofing, and integrity-related risks. By generating sector-specific threat scenarios and mitigation recommendations, this initiative equips national stakeholders with actionable intelligence to strengthen defences and plan strategic quantum-safe adoption.