The National Information Society Agency (NIA) announced on the 14th that it will hold the 'Post-Quantum Cryptography Transition Technology Contest' in collaboration with LG Uplus and CryptoLab until September 12.
The contest aims to review the practical application potential of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) in preparation for the era of quantum computing and identify practical talent. With the emergence of quantum computers threatening existing public key cryptosystems (RSA, ECC, etc.), PQC technology has gained attention.
The contest will proceed in two categories. The first is 'PQC Algorithm Optimization,' which deals with computational optimization using mathematical techniques and performance, resource, and speed optimization technologies for low-power embedded hardware. The second is 'PQC Algorithm Application,' focusing on empirical projects centered around practical application cases of PQC technology in various areas such as software, communication, and application services.
Participants can verify their technology using the PQC integration service and validation service of the PQC migration platform while performing tasks. This platform provides libraries and APIs to developers, enabling them to easily apply PQC technology to existing systems, and supports reliability assessments, including side-channel attack analysis and software stability checks.
Contest applications will be accepted until September 12, and after a first round of document review and a second round of presentation evaluation, the final award-winning teams will be announced in November. The grand prize (1 team) is 5 million won, the excellence award (2 teams) is 3 million won each, and the merit award (2 teams) is 2 million won each.