"Hello Quantum World:" New cybersecurity service uses entanglement to generate cryptographic keys

2 years ago 326

The caller work protects against existent and aboriginal cyberattacks, according to Quantinuum CEO, and works with existing cybersecurity systems.

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Quantinuum is the caller institution that combines trapped ion hardware from Honeywell Quantum Solutions and open-source bundle from Cambridge Quantum to make a full-stack quantum computing company.

Image: Quantinuum

Quantinumm's bundle institution Cambridge Quantum announced a caller mode to supply cryptographic keys that uses Honeywell's H1, entanglement and an API. Quantum Origin tin tally connected immoderate quantum machine and is designed to integrate into existing cybersecurity solutions.

This caller cloud-based method uses quantum entanglement to make cryptographic keys and is based connected verifiable quantum randomness, according to the company. The institution generates the keys earlier encrypting them with a transport cardinal and relaying them backmost to a customer.

Duncan Jones, caput of cybersecurity astatine Cambridge Quantum, said Quantum Origin is kickstarting the quantum cybersecurity industry.

"We tin isolate the peculiar spot of quantum behaviour we are looking for and past marque it disposable to different systems truthful that everyone tin payment and information tin beryllium accrued crossed the board," helium said. 

SEE: Quantinuum shifts speech from counting qubits to perfecting cybersecurity solution

Ilyas Khan, CEO of Quantinuum and laminitis of Cambridge Quantum, said that the cardinal generator was tested connected Oxford Quantum's and IBM's quantum computers.

"At the moment, the champion results person travel from a trapped ion strategy but that could alteration tomorrow," helium said. "The merchandise is level agnostic and could make the cardinal utilizing immoderate fig of quantum computers that travel online successful the future."

Jones said that Cambridge Quantum's device-agnostic attack is what makes this work antithetic from different attempts to usage quantum computers for cybersecurity.

In a achromatic insubstantial astir Quantum Origin, Cambridge Quantum describes instrumentality independency this way:

"In a afloat device-independent (DI) protocol, lone minimal assumptions are made astir the carnal instrumentality that executes the protocol. Instead, the instrumentality is treated arsenic a achromatic box, and the protocol simply provides inputs and interrogates the output from the device."

The merchandise supports RSA and AES algorithms arsenic good arsenic the post-quantum cryptography algorithms being standardized by the National Institute for Standards and Technology. The work is priced per cardinal generated for customers. 

Jones said that the institution has export controls successful spot to surface customers who privation to usage the service.

"As portion of our lawsuit onboard process, we bash owed diligence to marque definite usage cases and destination countries are each supra board," helium said.

Khan described Quantum Origin arsenic a antiaircraft exertion arsenic opposed to an adversarial one.

"We are focused connected protecting the exertion that creates the key, not selling it," helium said. "We are selling the merchandise created by that technology."

Cambridge Quantum volition connection the caller work to fiscal services companies and cybersecurity vendors initially and aboriginal to telecommunications, energy, manufacturing, defence and governments.

Encrypting information successful abstraction and implicit SDWANs

During a property telephone connected Monday, leaders from 2 companies that person utilized these quantum keys explained their experiences with the caller service. 

Axiom Space utilized the work to nonstop post-quantum encrypted messages betwixt the International Space Station and Earth. The company's archetypal quantum encrypted connection sent from the ISS was "Hello Quantum World." Axiom chose Quantum Origin to support information from in-space manufacturing, experiments, services and Department of Defense initiatives. 

"If we can't unafraid our data, that hurts a truly costly plus that is floating retired successful space," David Zuniga said during the property call. 

Axiom is gathering the infrastructure for low-Earth orbit operations and a commercialized abstraction station. The institution plans to nonstop humans into abstraction successful February 2022.

Khan said enactment done connected the abstraction presumption could beryllium critically important to researchers present and successful the future. 

"We don't privation radical hacking into systems and harvesting information to usage later," helium said. "You're not conscionable protecting against aboriginal attacks, you're protected contiguous against the worst that the adversary tin propulsion out."

In a proof-of-concept project, Fujitsu utilized the work successful its software-defined wide country web utilizing quantum-enhanced keys with accepted algorithms. Houton Houshmand, CTO and probe pb astatine Fujitsu, said that the caller keys volition support applications, borderline routing and unreality infrastructure from cyber attacks. 

"We are looking supra the stack implicit the SD WAN to support the information of information wrong the exertion and code information information needs of the exertion arsenic well," helium said.

Growing concerns astir modular encryption

A caller survey commissioned by Cambridge Quantum recovered that existing encryption methods whitethorn past lone 2 much years. Dimensional Research conducted the survey for the quantum institution successful October and asked 600 cybersecurity professionals astir these concerns. Sixty percent of respondents foretell existent encryption volition beryllium breached by 2023 by caller and evolving technologies. 

Only 21% said they were acceptable for this oversea alteration successful cybersecurity. Another 38% said they volition beryllium acceptable wrong the adjacent 2 years. Unfortunately, lone 20% of respondents said their organizations are allocating funds to code this challenge. An adjacent smaller radical — 13% — person purchased a solution to bash so.

The survey besides recovered that:

  • 80% of respondents are disquieted that a quantum-powered onslaught could hap without warning
  • 86% said they comply to regulations requiring captious information protections for an extended period

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