BTQ and ITCEN PNS Team Up on Quantum-Safe Security
BTQ Technologies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ITCEN PNS, a Korean security subsidiary of the ITCEN Group. This agreement aims to explore post-quantum cryptography applications for financial, public-sector, and enterprise systems. The MOU establishes a framework for evaluating and testing quantum-safe products, and is not a supply contract or a commercial rollout.
Agreement details
The MOU connects BTQ, which is present on Nasdaq and CBOE Canada, with ITCEN PNS, a company that trading on the KOSDAQ market since 2023. ITCEN PNS operates as the security platform arm of ITCENGLOBAL, the holding company for the ITCEN Group.
The parent company reported consolidated revenue of approximately KRW 8.9 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year, with its IT services segment contributing around KRW 1.2 trillion. Though the August 13 press release highlights this group-wide figure, ITCEN PNS is the direct party to this agreement.
Under the terms of the MOU, both companies will assess opportunities for integrating, testing, and commercializing quantum-safe security across various domains. These include financial communications, digital identity, biometric authentication, blockchain and Web3 security, and government infrastructure. All listed areas are currently at the evaluation stage.
ITCEN PNS, formerly known as Secucen, specializes in biometric authentication, electronic signatures, mobile security, and financial security products, which are already in use by Korean banks and insurers. BTQ focuses on post-quantum cryptography and hardware-rooted security. BTQ has been developing relationships in Korea, a market where several vendors are positioning themselves in anticipation of the post-quantum transition.
Credentials supporting the partnership
A key strength of this announcement lies in ITCEN PNS’s existing achievements. In July 2026, the company secured KCMVP validation, Korea’s national cryptographic module validation program, for a hybrid module. This module combines established public-key cryptography with NIST-standardized post-quantum algorithms, including ML-KEM for key encapsulation. KCMVP validation is a prerequisite for selling cryptographic products to Korean government and public institutions.
ITCEN PNS also possesses capabilities in KPQC, the Korean post-quantum cryptography standard. Furthermore, it participated in the Korea Internet & Security Agency’s Zero Trust pilot, which applied a quantum-resistant model within a domestic banking environment. These credentials were established prior to the agreement with BTQ.
Won-gyu Park, CEO of ITCEN PNS, described the collaboration cautiously:
“This collaboration gives us a strong framework to evaluate how those capabilities can be applied to practical security environments across Korea’s financial, public-sector, and enterprise infrastructure.”
To BTQ, this partnership provides valuable access. ITCEN PNS offers certified products and established distribution channels within Korean banks and public agencies. The conversion of this access into revenue will depend on future work that has not yet commenced.