Fully scalable quantum computers are still in the future, but current quantum technologies are offering solutions to specific problems across various industries today. Quantum tech’s development points to a breakout future — and a current cybersecurity threat.
The slow-then-sudden path generative AI took to consumers is playing out differently in quantum computers, which have yet to reach the mass adoption phase. Quantum computers have been in research for a much longer time than generative AI has. So, although quantum tech is in its infancy, a number of quantum computing’s foundational elements are already in commercial use. Engineers, scientists and others can adopt them now to address optimization or risk analysis problems.
While incumbent and startup tech companies race to build quantum chips, special-purpose quantum computers already are at work. Ford, Hyundai and other carmakers geared them up to develop composite materials for electric vehicle batteries. JPMorgan Chase is testing quantum-classical hybrid financial modeling systems. IBM is helping Pfizer bring quantum computing into drug discovery and ExxonMobil to optimize tanker routes.
As quantum technologies expand their capabilities and head toward mass adoption, many organizations can get an early start on available platforms. They can take advantage of immediate applications in areas like optimization and risk analysis, and proactively address the looming cybersecurity threats posed by future quantum capabilities. The stakes are high: Protecting proprietary data from “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks requires immediate action. A strategic shift towards crypto-agility will secure current and future computational infrastructures.
What Is the Current State of Quantum Computing?
Fully scalable quantum computers are still in development, but today’s quantum technologies are already used for specific tasks like optimization, risk analysis and material science. Industries from finance to automotive are testing hybrid quantum-classical systems, while experts urge immediate adoption of post-quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution to address emerging cybersecurity threats.
Expanding the Security Landscape for Quantum Tech
Amazon, Google and Microsoft have joined IBM in offering services to run quantum programs on cloud networks, echoing the pre-commercial breakthroughs of generative AI. Defense research includes super-secure quantum network testbeds, employing quantum states that self-destruct if intercepted. Most of these quantum-communication sandboxes currently cover a limited distance. Currently, researchers are developing emerging technologies such as quantum memory and quantum repeaters to extend the reach of quantum networks, however. This quantum internet would use the quantum properties of light particles to interconnect and change simultaneously, no matter how far apart they are. This shared quantum state is crucial for transmitting quantum information and enabling the unique capabilities of quantum computers.
With advancements in fault-tolerant computers, researchers have moved on to prototyping quantum applications. The Department of Energy this year will fund $625 million in quantum R&D, with a call to deliver quantum communications, quantum devices and sensors and foundries for fabricating quantum materials. Department of Defense research is developing robust quantum sensors to withstand battlefield vibration and interference.
In the first commercial applications, quantum tech will complement generative AI produced by established models. Both quantum and classical computers will be deployed for complicated calculations in drug discovery, fraud detection and logistics.
The long-term potential for quantum-native models is much greater than these hybrid methods, however. A quantum computer thinks differently — it would excel at modeling molecular-level interactions and could analyze a massive number of possibilities simultaneously. One of the promised benefits of quantum computers is that they will significantly reduce the energy requirements (for the same amount of compute power) than today’s compute environments.
Hardware engineers also will have to think differently about system design. Now, they need only pick an internet module and stack it onto the board. All the software and firmware they need is at hand to communicate over classical networks. But quantum computers exchange qubits, not ones and zeros. The medium for sending that information out will be optical: lasers, not ethernet devices.
So, a key design consideration will be how to incorporate photon detectors and photon emitters, the key elements of high-performance optical information systems, quantum cryptography systems and quantum atomic clocks.
Crypto-Agility Training Prepares for Quantum Future
Even in advance of widespread adoption, quantum tech presents an immediate cybersecurity concern: theft of proprietary data for later analysis with high-capacity quantum tools. CIOs and CISOs are recognizing they must act now to avoid future damage from “harvest now, decrypt later” exploits. This year, Google lowered its estimate of the quantum computing power that would be needed to crack an RSA cryptosystem in a week. Much of today’s encrypted, proprietary data still will be relevant three, five or even 10 years from now. Threat actors with dated national defense information could still do real damage.
So, the time to act is now. Fortunately, quantum technology is already in deployment to meet this threat in the form of quantum key distribution (QKD). Cybersecurity research into QKD began 15 to 20 years ago, and the technology now is being deployed in networks in the United States, South Korea and Singapore. Commercial and defense researchers are adopting distributed networks built on quantum-safe principles. QKD systems are based on physics rather than mathematics, transmitting a stream of photons. If intercepted, such a coded message breaks down, signaling its detection — a level of security unattainable with classical cryptography.
The Swiss banking system’s innovation agency this year released a seven-point action plan for the financial world to protect its data. Its two key points:
Take Stock
Understand what you’re looking to protect and how you’re using crypto engines now. Public-key encryption is at much higher risk, with Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms available for immediate use. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which does not need a quantum computer, provides an alternative that derives its security from physics rather than mathematics.
Find Ways to Be Crypto-Agile
For a hardware engineer, crypto-agility means looking at doing things in a way that can be agile in the future. Instead of burning information in an application-specific ASIC chip that takes years to implement, maybe use a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) that can be reconfigured on the fly. For a network engineer, it’s looking at a defense-in-depth proposition that does not put all your eggs in one basket. If one line of defense fails, one or two more remain to protect the network and the information.
Crypto-agility will mean constant evolution. PQC algorithms have been standardized but have only been around for less than a year, compared to classical implementations that have been proven over decades of deployment. If one of the new algorithms is eventually broken, crypto algorithms will take time to migrate to something more resistant. Defense-in-depth proponents use PQC and QKD as complements, providing multiple layers of defense. Engineers who bring this belt-and-suspenders approach to their work will stay ahead of the quantum curve.
