In a landmark event at the ASEAN Quantum Summit 2025 from 10 to 11 December 2025, Malaysia has officially signalled its readiness for the next generation of digital security. MIMOS Berhad, the national applied research and development centre, successfully demonstrated a commercial-grade Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) system, proving that ‘unhackable’ communication is no longer science fiction, but it is now a reality on Malaysian soil.
As an active participant at the summit, MIMOS highlighted advanced Quantum Communication Technology and its practical use case in enabling a Quantum Safe Network for Malaysia, reinforcing national readiness to address cybersecurity risks in the post-quantum era.
From the Lab to the Real World
While quantum technology is often discussed in the abstract, the recent demonstration was grounded in the physical world. In collaboration with IDQuantique., Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), and Telekom Malaysia (TM), MIMOS successfully established a quantum communication channel across 52 kilometres of standard fibre-optic cable.
The demonstration utilised ID Quantique’s Clavis XG Alice and Bob systems, both collocated at UTM, proving that the technology works within the existing internet infrastructure. The system maintained a carrier-grade secret key generation rate, attesting that it is sufficient and robust enough to handle the heavy data loads required by modern banks and government agencies.
The system achieved:
- Quantum Bit Error Rate (QBER) below 1%, indicating highly reliable quantum transmission
- Secret key generation rate of approximately 7,000 bits per second (bps), suitable for practical secure communications
Demonstrating End-to-End Quantum-Safe Applications
Beyond the physical QKD layer, MIMOS developed a sample software application to demonstrate the practical use of quantum-generated secret keys in real-world scenarios. The application securely encrypts financial transactions between Malaysia and Singapore, using secrets generated directly from the QKD system.
This demonstration showcased:
- The end-to-end integration of QKD with application-layer security
- The feasibility of inter-country and cross-border financial transactions protected by a quantum-safe network
- The potential for establishing QKD-as-a-Service (QKDaaS) as a scalable model in Malaysia, enabling multiple users and industries to benefit from quantum-secured communications without owning the underlying infrastructure
Looking ahead, MIMOS is planning to further enhance this capability by extending quantum-generated secrets into infrastructure-level encryption technologies, ensuring seamless and scalable adoption across enterprise and carrier-grade environments.
Planned enhancements include the integration of QKD-derived keys with:
- IPSec, for securing network-layer communications
- MACsec, for high-speed, link-layer encryption between data centres and critical infrastructure
- API Gateways, enabling quantum-safe protection for digital services, applications, and cross-platform data exchanges
These enhancements will allow QKD to move beyond point solutions into a foundational security layer, supporting secure digital ecosystems at national and cross-border scales while accelerating the deployment of quantum-safe networks as a core infrastructure service.
Building a Secure Bridge for International Trade
The technology has strong potential for deployment within the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), positioning the southern economic corridor as a quantum-safe hub for financial transactions and secure data centre interconnection.
A Quantum-Safe JS-SEZ would:
- Enhance trust and security for financial institutions, multinational enterprises, and digital service providers
- Support secure interconnection between data centres, a critical requirement for cloud services and digital trade
- Strengthen Malaysia’s competitiveness as a secure digital economy gateway
Furthermore, the proposed quantum-safe JS-SEZ can be extended to interconnect with Singapore’s existing National Quantum-Safe Network (NQSN / NQSN+), enabling cross-border quantum-secured transactions and reinforcing regional digital trust across ASEAN.
Strategic Impact for Stakeholders and Investors
This successful deployment underscored MIMOS’ role as a national enabler of:
- Quantum-resilient cybersecurity
- Next-generation secure communications
- Trusted digital infrastructure for finance, government, and critical industries
For stakeholders and investors, the initiative opens pathways for:
- Commercialisation of QKD-based services
- Public–private partnerships in quantum communications
- Regional leadership opportunities in ASEAN’s emerging quantum ecosystem
By bridging research excellence, commercial-grade technology, and real-world applications, MIMOS is accelerating the transition from quantum innovation to economic value creation.
Looking Ahead
MIMOS will continue to collaborate with industry players, academia, and policymakers to expand quantum communication deployments, develop quantum-safe digital ecosystems, and drive the commercial adoption of quantum technologies in Malaysia and beyond.
The future of secure digital transactions is quantum, and MIMOS is building that future today.
