With the advancement of quantum computing, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) has released guidance to help the payment card industry address risks associated with this emerging technology.
As quantum computers become more accessible, they promise to facilitate much faster and more intricate business processes within the payment card sector. However, FS-ISAC warns that this technology could compromise many existing encryption methods used to protect customer payments.
The center’s cryptography working group has published documents that detail the challenges and threats quantum computing poses to the payment card industry, along with frameworks for transitioning to quantum-resilient systems.
Among the published papers is a guide outlining essential steps for adopting quantum-resistant cryptography and maintaining cybersecurity best practices. Recommendations include implementing strong access controls to limit access to cardholder data, encrypting sensitive information during storage and transmission, conducting regular system updates and patches, using secure coding practices, and performing thorough monitoring, auditing, and risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities.
Additionally, the papers emphasize the need for strategies that mitigate quantum-related threats and improve detection and response capabilities to counter adversarial attacks, thus ensuring the continued security of the post-quantum payment card industry ecosystem.
Mike Silverman, FS-ISAC’s chief strategy and innovation officer, stated, “The guidance in this paper is the result of collaborative efforts by experts in the payment card industry to replace outdated encryption methods with quantum-resistant standards.”