News in Brief

Thales Launches Quantum- Resistant Smartcard

Thales has unveiled MultiApp 5.2 Premium PQC, which it claims is the world’s first smartcard certified to resist attacks from quantum computers ¹.

Certified by ANSSI, France’s national cybersecurity agency, the product incorporates cryptographic signatures based on the Federal Information Processing Standard 204, one of the new NIST-approved post-quantum algorithms derived from structured lattice mathematics. This enables the card to withstand future quantum decryption methods that threaten conventional RSA and ECC encryption.

The development is in response to the anticipated ‘Q Day’ – the day when quantum computers become powerful enough to break today’s public-key cryptography. Some analysts predict this could happen before 2030. The new Thales card ensures that identity credentials such as eID cards, driving licences and health cards remain secure in a post-quantum environment. It achieves an Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) 6+ rating.