Is DOE Funding Quantum Technology Wisely?

(FedScoop) Some technologists are questioning the government’s priorities as agencies like the Department of Energy invest tens of millions of dollars in additional funding in quantum computing.
the $30 million DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response awarded during the last research call, only $3 million went toward quantum key distribution (QKD) — a controversial, 30-year-old technology rooted in the laws of physics.
QKD is arguably the most mature quantum technology to date, sharing secret keys made of light — photon by photon — across optical fiber networks. Each photon is encoded with a one or a zero and, taken as a bit sequence, used in cryptographic protocols.
If quantum computers are an offensive weapon against cryptography, then quantum keys are a defensive weapon and currently “the only actionable system available” to protect communications channels.