Tech giant IBM and Vodafone are furthering their collaboration to develop quantum-safe computing algorithms. The partnership announced today at the IBM Quantum Summit 2022 will lend Vodafone access to the IBM Quantum Network to explore various telco use cases.

The collaboration follows both parties hopping on board GSMA’s Post-Quantum Telco Network Taskforce announced at the MWC Las Vegas 2022 event after the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) selected four quantum-safe cryptography algorithms to be standardized in July.

With the expanding demand for 5G and ubiquitous connection following the pandemic, the telecom industry’s role has become a critical one in developing progressive safety protocols. “Telco, in my view, is the underpinning connectivity network for any organization,” IBM VP and Fellow Ray Harishankar told SDxCentral during MWC Las Vegas.

“Future quantum computers will pose a threat to today’s standard security, such as public key encryption … Vodafone’s exploration of these protocols marks an IBM Quantum Safe first in understanding and preparing for this risk in telecommunications,” IBM stated in the press release announcing the partnership between the two giants.

With hackers taking a “harvest now, decrypt later” approach, the threat is very real today, Harishankar noted in Las Vegas.

“You may say, okay, so what if it’s still 10 to 20 years away? Why worry about it now? Because what bad actors can do today is download the information. Regardless of whether I’m able to decrypt it or not, I’ll download it and keep it, and then maybe 15 to 20 years later, I’ll crack it and see what goodies I have in my [bag],” Harishankar said.

Luke Ibbetson, head of group R&D at Vodafone Group, stated in the release, “Investing in quantum-safe cryptography, now, also gives us the peace of mind that our infrastructure and customer data will also always be secure as we explore the benefits of quantum computing.”

Vodafone will also be actively recruiting and investing in employee training led by IBM to develop a strong team of computing experts.