The Quantum Resistance Corporation (QRC), a Zug, Zug, Switzerland-based project of the Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL) blockchain community that is working on post-quantum cybersecurity efforts, is partnering with threat intelligence and cybersecurity firm RedSense.
RedSense, based in Cheyenne, Wyoming, according to its LinkedIn page, “will provide network security and management services for the QRC, and together RedSense and QRC will provide security for cryptocurrencies, as well as developers utilizing the Quantum Resistant Ledger post-quantum secure blockchain to develop future-proof solutions,” according to a QRC statement.
The statement went on, “In particular, this partnership will result in a unique security program and market offering that leverages the combined expertise of RedSense and the QRC to help cryptocurrencies respond to the rapidly advancing threat of quantum computing.” The role of quantum technology in improving blockchain security and cryptocurrency protection was discussed in a recent IQT Inside Scoop article.
The QRC noted that Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana and other cryptocurrencies “are hacked on an almost weekly basis, inflicting significant financial losses on users and further damaging the mainstream perception of cryptocurrency. In 2022, more than $3.8 billion worth of digital coins were stolen from digital asset holders, according to Chainalysis. The eye-popping losses (recent attacks on Wormhole, Binance and Ronin Network cost users between $325 million and $625 million per incident) reflect the significant vulnerabilities of decentralized finance protocols in traditional blockchain technology.”
Yelisey Bohuslavskiy, Chief Intelligence Officer of RedSense, stated, “Unfortunately, we are only going to see more and more frequent attacks on cryptocurrencies and users’ digital assets. The existing technology has a fundamental flaw, there are known attacks that can cause digital coins to go to zero and this will happen just as soon as a quantum computer of sufficient size is brought online. It’s functionally unfixable and we could be just three to five years from a nightmare scenario.”
The QRL uses the eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme (XMSS), a hash-based stateful signature scheme was proposed in 2019 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as a “supplement” to the FIPS-186 digital signature standard while NIST’s broader program to finalized new post-quantum cryptography algorithm standards remains ongoing.
Craig Clement of the QRL Community, stated, “The web3 space is often the site of lax security as projects, platforms and technology are often built without concern for traditional computer security processes and review. Without having a centralized authority to dictate policy, only a sufficiently advanced intelligence program such as what RedSense and the QRC provide, can provide some assurance to participants in an ecosystem that the sites and services they use have any degree of consistent security. RedSense and the QRC are building a program that we will extend to the market to help secure all digital currency projects and reduce attacks.”
This week’s announcement comes after the QRL announced the awarding of a $500,000 grant to the QRC “to provide a community security program for other QRL grantees, which are using the distributed network and post-quantum secure blockchain technology to securely build Layer2 applications and protocols.”
Dan O’Shea has covered telecommunications and related topics including semiconductors, sensors, retail systems, digital payments and quantum computing/technology for over 25 years.