Quantum News Briefs July 12: Quantum tech: The game-changer in defense and warfare; Elie Girard joins quantum leader Alice & Bob as Executive Chairman; .01 Communique partners with Keyfactor to provide quantum-safe X.509 certificates + MORE
Quantum tech: The game-changer in defense and warfare
The Special Operations Forces Report (SOFR) published an article July 5 to “decode the advantages of quantum technology” for its members. Quantum News Briefs summarizes.
SOFR explains, “The military implications of quantum computing are profound.” As the technology matures, quantum systems could bring about dramatic shifts in defense and warfare, from secure communication to advanced detection and navigation. However, the quantum leap must be taken with caution, as it presents vast opportunities and ushers in new complexities and potential risks.” The SOFR briefly describes the following quantum technology advantages in reference to military needs.
Securing Communications: Quantum Cryptography: This technology could provide unprecedented levels of security for military forces for communication networks, ensuring the confidentiality of crucial information.
Quantum Radar: Piercing Stealth Technologies: In a military context, quantum sensors could offer superior detection and imaging capabilities, from identifying underground structures to detecting stealth aircraft.
Navigating the Quantum Landscape: Quantum GPS: A quantum compass, utilizing super-cooled, ultra-precise atomic accelerometers and gyroscopes, could provide highly accurate positioning information without the need for satellites. This makes it immune to jamming or spoofing attempts. Click here to read original article in-entirety
Elie Girard joins quantum leader Alice & Bob as Executive Chairman
Alice & Bob, a global leader in the race for fault-tolerant quantum computing, announced on July 11 the appointment of Elie Girard as its new Executive Chairman. Quantum News Briefs summarizes July 11 announcement.
Girard will leverage his decades of business strategy experience to advise Alice & Bob in its pioneering efforts to develop high-quality, logical qubits based on Cat Qubits technology.
Cat Qubits are superconducting qubits with built-in error correction that drastically lower the hardware requirements in quantum computers. Alice & Bob researchers have demonstrated that using Cat Qubits may reduce the number of qubits required to run landmark quantum algorithms such as Shor’s by up to 60 times.
Girard remarked on his decision to join the Alice & Bob team, “The real-world benefits of quantum computing are coming soon, and Cat Qubits are going to play a major role in this quantum revolution. Coupling their high-quality technology with this expertly qualified team makes Alice & Bob poised to be a major player in Quantum.”
Eviden and Alice & Bob bond over cat qubits
With over 20 years of experience, Girard has held leadership positions in eight prominent companies, most notably as CEO & Director at ATOS and senior executive vice president at Orange. He also served on many boards across the world. His academic achievements include graduating from École Centrale Paris and Harvard University with master’s degrees in engineering and economics and statistics, respectively.
In his new role at Alice & Bob, Girard will draw upon his wealth of experience in structuring and scaling successful companies to enhance Alice & Bob’s ambitious growth trajectory. His advisory role will focus on shaping the company’s structure, guiding its approach to production chains, and connecting its unique quantum technology solutions with sectors such as banking, automotive, and energy that are already exploring Alice & Bob’s technology.
Théau Peronnin, CEO and co-founder of Alice & Bob, said “Adding Elie to our organization as Executive Chairman and Advisor is tremendously important for our strategic road map and our position within the global tech ecosystem. His past experience coupled with his enthusiasm for quantum technology makes him an ideal Executive Chairman.” Click here to read the complete announcement.
01 Communique partners with Keyfactor to provide quantum-safe X.509 certificates
The partnership will foster the development and joint marketing of quantum-safe X.509 certificates for the Enterprise Certification Authority solution, EJBCA as well as cybersecurity solutions for global businesses, organizations, and governments to help them achieve cyber resilience.
This partnership marks a significant step towards a secure digital landscape, ensuring peace of mind for organizations and individuals in the face of evolving cyber threats.
IronCAP™’s combined NIST-approved post-quantum cryptography algorithms and its patent-protected cryptographic technology are designed to operate on current computer systems to safeguard against cyber threats in the post-quantum world of computing. 01 Communique believes this partnership will empower vendors/businesses with quantum-safe solutions to seamlessly tackle cybersecurity risks today and into the future.
Keyfactor brings digital trust to the hyper-connected world with identity-first security for every machine and human. By simplifying PKI, automating certificate lifecycle management, and securing every device, workload, and thing, Keyfactor helps organizations move fast to establish digital trust at scale – and then maintain it. In a zero-trust world, every machine needs an identity and every identity must be managed. Click here to read July 10 announcement in-entirety.
U of Vienna Scientists design unconditionally secure system for digital settings
The demonstration of such “quantum-digital payments” in a realistic environment has just been published in Nature Communications.
The research team led by Prof. Philip Walther from the University of Vienna has shown how the quantum properties of light particles or photons can ensure unconditional security for digital payments. In an experiment the researchers have demonstrated that each transaction cannot be duplicated or diverted by malicious parties, and that the user’s sensitive data stays private.
For enabling absolute secure digital payments, the scientists replaced classical cryptographic techniques with a quantum protocol exploiting single photons. During the course of a classical digital payment transaction the client shares a classical code – called cryptogram – with his payment provider (e.g. a bank or credit card company). This cryptogram is then passed on between customer, merchant and payment provider. In the demonstrated quantum protocol this cryptogram is generated by having the payment provider sending particularly prepared single photons to the client. For the payment procedure, the client measures these photons whereby the measurement settings depend on the transaction parameters. Since quantum states of light cannot be copied, the transaction can only be executed once. This, together with the fact that any deviation of the intendent payment alters the measurement outcomes, which are verified by the payment provider, makes this digital payment unconditionally secure.
The researchers successfully implemented quantum-digital payments over an urban optical fiber link of 641m, connecting two university buildings in down-town Vienna. Click here to read original MirageNews article in-entirety.
Sandra K. Helsel, Ph.D. has been researching and reporting on frontier technologies since 1990. She has her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona