Quantum News Briefs September 15:
QuSecure’s quantum-resilient SaaS is industry’s first & only post-quantum cryptography solution now available via GSA Multiple Award Schedule
This strategic move enhances QuSecure’s commitment to delivering advanced cybersecurity technologies to federal government agencies and the broader public sector, ensuring data protection against the emerging threats of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and quantum computing. Being on the GSA schedule offers many significant benefits, including:
- Direct Access to the World’s Largest Customer – The GSA Schedule enables direct access to the U.S. federal government, the largest buyer of goods and services in the world, and it allows QuSecure to more easily equip state and local governments, as well as public schools, with leading PQC technologies.
- Access to GSA Schedule Opportunities – QuSecure has access to opportunities that are available only to GSA Schedule contractors and these have the benefit of faster award times.
- Competitive Advantage – Government agencies often prefer to buy from the GSA Schedule program because the contractors such as QuSecure are pre-vetted and offer the best value.
- Long-term Partnership – GSA Schedule contracts with QuSecure can last up to 20 years and there is no ceiling on sales (also called “Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity”).
- Streamlined Procurement Process – The GSA Schedule simplifies the procurement process for both the government buyer and QuSecure. A GSA Schedule contract is deemed a Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) with “fair and reasonable pricing” and can be used by any federal entity. An order placed with QuSecure against a GSA Schedule contract automatically is considered the best value and results in the lowest overall cost for the customer.
QuSecure’s quantum-resilient solutions are engineered to safeguard sensitive information against today’s attacks and in the coming age of quantum computing, offering unparalleled security for government organizations and the public sector. With AI, ML (Machine Learning) and quantum computing’s rapid advancements able to render current encryption methods obsolete, QuSecure stands at the forefront of delivering quantum-resilient cybersecurity. Click here to read September announcement in-entirety on QuSecure website.
Infleqtion, UChicago, and MIT unite to develop breakthrough cancer solutions with AI and quantum algorithms
Infleqtion announced on September 13 that it had been awarded funding from Wellcome Leap’s Quantum for Bio (Q4Bio) program with a team of renowned researchers and medical doctors at the University of Chicago (UChicago) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Quantum News Briefs summarizes.
This collaborative effort aims to transform cancer care by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum algorithms to drive personalized diagnostics and treatments. Founded by the Wellcome Trust in 2020, Wellcome Leap is a U.S. non-profit that builds and executes bold, unconventional programs designed to increase the number and speed of breakthroughs in human health.
The Q4Bio program brings together highly skilled and multidisciplinary teams with cross-institution collaborations. The team led by Infleqtion, a company with extensive experience in commercializing quantum technologies, includes leaders in quantum computing (QC), algorithm development, multimodal genomics, and clinical cancer care.
Dr. Frederic Chong, Chief Scientist for Quantum Software at Infleqtion and the Seymour Goodman Professor of Computer Science at the University of Chicago, and Teague Tomesh, a Quantum Software Engineer at Infleqtion, both bring expertise in QC systems and cross-layer optimizations. Dr. Alexander T. Pearson, a clinical oncologist and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, contributes his knowledge in computational oncology and digital pathology. Dr. Samantha Riesenfeld, an Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering and Medicine at the University of Chicago, adds her expertise in genomic data science and systems immunology. Dr. Aram Harrow, a Professor of Physics at MIT, is a renowned quantum algorithms developer.
Together, the team is uniquely positioned to leverage their powerful computational resources to develop quantum cancer biomarker algorithms. This ambitious project will integrate diverse data modalities, including genomics, transcriptomics, and pathology, utilizing advanced AI and ML algorithms empowered by quantum computing capabilities. Click here to read the complete September 13 announcement.
NSF Funds Physics Frontiers Centers $76 M for quantum focus to propel next-gen innovations
Researchers at the newly funded centers will probe diverse and difficult topics such as how the exotic quantum-scale properties of atoms and molecules can be scaled up for new purposes and how matter evolved the ability to store and process information, thus leading to living things with memories.
The centers will provide substantial training and mentorship opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to help build the U.S. scientific workforce and prepare the next generation of leaders in physics. The centers also aim to inspire middle and high school students to pursue careers in science, engaging them through educational games and videos, workshops, summer schools and educational outreach with local schools and teachers.
The 2023 NSF Physics Frontiers Centers:
NSF Physics Frontiers Center for Living Systems:
Located at the University of Chicago, this center is funded for the first time and aims to advance a new field of science focused on understanding how matter is able to store and retrieve information, as living things do with memories.
NSF Physics Frontiers Center: Institute for Quantum Information and Matter:
Located at the California Institute of Technology, the center seeks to combine and advance multiple fields of physics involving atoms and molecules with new developments from quantum information theory.
NSF Physics Frontiers Center: Institute for Quantum Information and Matter
Located at the California Institute of Technology, the center seeks to combine and advance multiple fields of physics involving atoms and molecules with new developments from quantum information theory.
NSF Physics Frontiers Center: Comprehension and Control of Emerging Complexity at the Quantum Frontier
Located at the University of Colorado Boulder, the center will advance control over light-matter interactions to explore quantum systems of increasing size and complexity.
Located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the center’s goal is to enable greater control and programmability of quantum-entangled systems of low-temperature atoms and molecules. Click here to read detailed announcement.
Arqit launches the world’s first integrated solution for quantum-safe VPN connectivity using Symmetric Key Agreement
Arqit’s QuantumCloud™ is the world’s first fully scalable cloud-based symmetric key agreement platform, capable of creating zero trust quantum-safe encryption keys at any device. By integrating QuantumCloud™ with Juniper Networks® vSRX Virtual Firewall, the resulting solution enables quantum-safe encrypted connectivity between customer locations, keeping data safe both at rest and in transit. Arqit’s QuantumCloud uses unique symmetric key agreement software to provide quantum-safe keys which are used by Juniper SRX devices during the formation of secure tunnels.
Juniper’s vSRX Virtual Firewall supports the ETSI 014 standard and RFC8784 for IPsec, resulting in the first GA product supporting flexibility and scalability in generating and using symmetric keys from various sources, including Arqit’s symmetric keys.
Samantha Madrid, Group Vice President, Security Business and Strategy at Juniper Networks said, “Juniper is thrilled to be working with Arqit through our technology alliance to enable quantum-safe encrypted connectivity using the QuantumCloud Platform. It is imperative that innovation efforts continue in cybersecurity as threats continue to proliferate in tandem with the pace of digitalisation. Juniper and Arqit are paving the way for safe and reliable cybersecurity solutions to deliver the best experience for organisations and businesses.” Click here to read the announcement 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.