ICBC has recently realized quantum encrypted transmission of Beijing-Shanghai Internet Banking remote data via the quantum communication technology. It is the first successful application of the thousand-km-level quantum communication technology in the global banking industry, and also an important milestone for the industrial application of quantum communication technology in China.

To further enhance the security assurance capacity and improve the risk management, and in response to the outcry of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, ICBC worked with the University of Science and Technology of China, on Technical Verification and Application Demonstration Project of Quantum Encrypted Communication Technology in Beijing-Shanghai Trunkline and took the lead in successful application of the quantum communication technology in intra-city encrypted transmission of Beijing and Shanghai branches’ electronic records in 2015. In February 2017, upon completion of the quantum encrypted communication backbone network, ICBC successfully employed the quantum communication technology in Beijing-Shanghai off-site WAN applications under its “Three Centers in Two Cities” architecture, and realized the quantum encrypted transmission of Internet Banking remote data.

The quantum key distribution, based on principles of quantum physics, is at the very core of quantum communication, and has proved to be the safest key distribution technology so far. The integration of the quantum communication technology into classical networks will significantly increase the security of both communication sides, and carries strong implicature in improving China’s information security industry. As the biggest quantum communication network of the largest spatial span in the world, the Beijing-Shanghai quantum encrypted communication trunkline consists of several relay stations and multiple optical fiber quantum communication lines, and will provide services for the major demand of national information security.