Monthly Archives: September 2021

Quantum computing explained to most businesses may be confusing. As the technology becomes mainstream, many are still struggling to understand how the technology works and how it can benefit their organization in the future.

The global quantum computing (QC) market is expected to reach US$ 3.7 billion by 2030 despite the challenges in keeping qubits stable. Some major quantum computing success stories include IBM Quantum System One in Europe to help companies and research organizations develop and test applied quantum algorithms.

Google announced plans to build a commercial quantum computer that can perform large-scale calculations without errors by the end of the decade while a Chinese startup, Origin Quantum, launched the countrys first homegrown operating system for a quantum computer.

But according to results of a survey from The Pistoia Alliance, almost half of life science professionals claim to only understand QC technology at a beginner level. Only less than 10% of the professionals admitted having expert understanding of QC.

For life science professionals, Quantum computing explained to them should be easier to be understood compared to other professionals. However, with 48% only at beginner level, applying the technology in use cases is still far off despite the significant noise generated by the potential of QC.

According to Celia Merzbacher, Executive Director at QED-C explained that, In the last year alone, quantum computing hardware and software advances have been made, and access to technology via the cloud continues to improve. As a result, the barriers to entry in quantum computing for life sciences are lower and the number of collaborations are on the rise. This recent shift is seen in the survey results, where limited access to QC infrastructure as a barrier has decreased compared to a year ago.

Merzbacher added that QC promises to have an enormous impact on many industries, including life sciences. The technology is already seeing clear near-term applications and uses that can help to advance the industry.

Source The Pistoia Alliance

While the potentials of quantum computing explained to industries may be showing some positivity, the barriers to launching QC projects still continue as well. The survey shows that a lack of understanding of QC and the inability to articulate valuable uses (35%) were some of the of the reasons. This was followed by lack of skills (29%), lack of access to QC infrastructure (15%), and cost (11%).

At the same time, these challenges are now being addressed by Pistoia Alliance Quantum Computing Community of Interest, in partnership with QED-C and QuPharm. Getting quantum computing explained in the C-suite and raising funds for development of use cases for the technology are just some of the steps taken. Pistoia Alliance member companies in the quantum computing field that are also helping to drive forward innovation, include Cambridge Quantum Computing, Zapata Computing, Molecular Quantum Solutions, QunaSys, Qubit Pharmaceuticals and QC Ware.

Interestingly, 36% of respondents believe that QC will impact the biopharma industry within the next five years. With life science specific use cases now emerging from QC companies and consortia, there are clear signs of rapid short-term development and adoption. For example, Menten AI has developed a drug discovery project to build proteins using D-Waves platform, as part of the Creative Destruction Labs Quantum bootcamp.

Quantum computing is the next computational approach our organization is looking to utilize. It will help us to remove constraints in drug discovery and solve large optimization problems that have required too much time or computing power to previously progress, commented a Senior Director of R&D IT from a top ten pharma company.

For John Wise, a consultant for the Pistoia Alliance, the global collaborative network is perfectly placed to help the industry develop use cases and to de-risk investments in innovative technology. However, he believes the seismic shift it promises to deliver will not be possible if they cant define the applications that gain buy-in from stakeholders and the C-suite.

Indeed, the challenges of any new technology would be getting the C-suite to understand it. While its still early days for QC, the alliance should look to getting QC explained to the right people, be it life science professionals or C-Suite executives, in the hopes that the technology can be used to its full potential once its available.

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Can quantum computing be easily explained? - TechHQ

Quantum computing offers incredible computing power and is set to transform many areas such as research. However, it also represents a threat to current security systems as cracking passwords and encryption keys becomes much easier.

So quantum is a security threat, but is there a solution to making systems safer? We spoke to David Williams, CEO of symmetric encryption specialist Arqit, to find out.

BN: Why are current encryption techniques no longer adequate?

DW: First, public key cryptography was not designed for a hyper-connected world, it wasn't designed for an Internet of Things, it's unsuitable for the nature of the world that we're building. The need to constantly refer to certification providers for authentication or verification is fundamentally unsuitable. And of course the mathematical primitives at the heart of that are definitely compromised by quantum attacks so you have a system which is crumbling and is certainly dead in a few years time.

A lot of the attacks we've seen result from certifications being compromised, certificates expiring, certificates being stolen and abused.

But with the sort of computational power available from a quantum computer blockchain is also at risk. If you make a signature bigger to guard against it being cracked the block size becomes huge and the whole blockchain grinds to a halt.

BN: Where did you start to look for a solution?

DW: The person who solves this will become very successful, so in 2017 we began an innovation journey. The tech that we had back then most definitively did not work, it didn't solve the problem. What we now have is a product which is called Quantum Cloud. It's just a a lightweight software agent that's 200 lines of code that can be delivered from the cloud and it can be downloaded into any device. We can put it into an IoT sensor, or a battleship, it doesn't matter, it's the same software for all devices.

What that software does is it creates keys for groups of devices that want to communicate securely, so it could be two or 20 or 2000 devices, and they all undergo a process whereby they create a brand new symmetric encryption key, which they then use to communicate securely. We know that symmetric encryption key is computationally secure. A symmetric encryption key is just a long random number, and even a quantum computer in future will not be able to crack it in less than billions of years. Symmetric encryption keys have been used for decades, delivered by human courier, and therefore the algorithm to use such keys is already built into the world's software systems which means there's no great change required for the world to adopt the use of this technology.

We didn't invent symmetric encryption keys, we invented a way to distribute them securely.

BN: Can you give us an idea of how this works?

DW: Imagine two end points in in London and New York who want to create a secure channel. Each device talks to a data center in its city. In each location there are Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) which have identical sets of the encryption key data. That data is put there by 'satellites' which use a quantum protocol to deliver that information in a method that we can demonstrate is provably secure.

Think of the data centers as buckets, three times a day the satellites throw some random numbers into the buckets and all data centers end up with an identical bucket full of identical sets of random information. So, the endpoints talk to the data centers, which have a conversation and they agree on some information or clues to send in common to the end points, without actually knowing what that information is. In a very clever mashup of those clues, and the existing data that they have on their devices, the end points then create simultaneously a brand new random number.

BN: Is this available today?

DW: The satellite technology is still a couple of years away, currently the root source of random numbers is delivered to data centers by a random number generator in a data center, through some terrestrial mechanisms, which is regarded by our customers as secure today. It's not quantum safe yet, but the network gets upgraded in two years time when the quantum satellites launch and the whole thing becomes quantum safe.

BN: How will it tie in with a zero trust world?

DW: Conventionally with satellite quantum encryption, you can either be zero trust or you can be global, you can't be both. Well that makes the whole thing a bit pointless because the internet's global. Our technology is simultaneously zero trust and global. So, in our protocol the satellite is never trusted with the key, an individual receiver is never trusted with the key. It is a zero trust system. But secondly, the endpoint software adds another layer of zero-trust functionality. The data centers never have the key, the key is never created somewhere else and distributed. The key is created locally on the device, and therefore there is no other device in the network which we're trusting with the key. Therefore, the software protocol is also zero trust.

BN: Will the end user logging into their bank or VPN see any difference?

DW: It's unlikely that a consumer will ever see the operation of our new software, you won't see it sitting on your device called 'Arqit's product', it will be baked into other people's applications and it will be a seamless experience for the average customer.

BN: Are there wider applications for the technology?

DW: One of the things we're most excited about is JADC2 (Joint All-Domain Command and Control), which is basically the military Internet of Things. This involves lots of devices that need to operate in dynamic environments. You can't possibly give every single device that you might feasibly want to communicate with a set of keys to cope with every possible scenario its simply impossible. And in JADC2 we have to rely currently on old fashioned public key cryptography.

But if every device can just download the lightweight quantum cloud agents, then as soon as you agree that drone needs to talk to that satellite, which needs to talk to that other commander, they just set up brand new key dynamically in real time. We can create unbreakable and trustless keys in the moment that they needed and we can change the access rights.

Of course the same problem is also solved in the enterprise and for consumer devices. So yes, the application of our technology is everything, everywhere. There is no application we've ever thought of where the technology can't make things stronger and simpler.

Photo Credit: The World in HDR / Shutterstock.com

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Why quantum computing is a security threat and how to defend against it [Q&A] - BetaNews

The disruptive potential of quantum computing is becoming a reality at an unprecedented rate, and there is now a need more than ever to start to demystify quantum. Its time tounderstandwhat it means for business,the impact it will have,and how to get itembedded intoemerging technology strategies within organisations.

As revenue from quantum computing is expected to grow at a CAGR of 32% from 2019 to 2030, reaching 2.54 billion ($3.5 billion) in 2030, there is huge potentialinunlockingthis transformative technology. So,the question is, how to get this relativelynewtechnology that has the possibility to revolutionise business on thestrategicagenda now?

Part of the strategy to roll out quantumin businesswillbehowtopresent this to both internal and external stakeholders, how and what to educate teams onregardingthegrowthopportunity quantum offers, and the steps to taketo do this. And this is no mean feat.

The Quantum Computing Summit London,co-located with The AI Summitat theExCeLLondon(22-23 September),has been designed to provide businessand technical insight, to showcase how quantum is delivering real business value.Access the knowledge from the leaders who will be presenting quantum computing in way that will enable enterprises to secureinvestmentandstakeholder support,and enable them toprogress with pilot programmes.

The Quantum Computing Summit will behostingglobal pioneersfrom across the techsphere who are leading the quantum charge,andwill be diving into topics and discussion areasthat include:

Explore the full agenda here

There isnt a silver bullet for quantum computing but therecouldbe consequences for failing to preparefor this next wave of digital transformation.At the Quantum ComputingSummit,you can leverage access to theexpertswhowill be demonstratinginitial steps required to take in your quantumjourney, and how to lay the foundations for a comprehensive strategy androadmapfor success.

Connect with partners who are actively working with enterprises to scale quantum, and who are accelerating the application of quantum computing in business to solve the most challenging problems.TheQuantum Computing Summitgives enterprisesaccess the tools, practical insights and strategiesto demystify quantum,which will help enterprises to:

There is no doubt that Quantum computing has the potential to disrupt your industry. Gain a competitive edge with access to two days of unrivalled content and access the strategies to quantum you can implement to accelerate business success.

Now is the time to actively take steps to build partnerships that will take your company to the next level.Join us next week in a safe and secure environment and lets get back to business.

The Quantum Computing Summit, 22-23rdSeptember2021,ExCeLLondon.

Request your pass now:The Quantum Computing Summit

Link:

Prepare for the next phase of digital transformation at The Quantum Computing Summit - UKTN - UKTN (UK Technology News

The new US-UK-Australia alliance is set to shake up how all three countries carry out research in key emerging technologies.

Most of the talk has been about submarines, but another important aspect of the new Aukus alliance between Australia, the UK and the US is that it defines emerging technologies particularly artificial intelligence and quantum computing as first-order national security issues.

As Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a Twitter thread:

Bringing together the military industrial complex of these three allies together is a step change in the relationship. Weve always been interoperable, but this aims at much more. From artificial intelligence to advanced technology the US, UK and Australia will now be able to cost save by increasing platform sharing and innovation costs. Particularly for the smaller two, thats game-changing.

Tugendhat is right. The game has changed, and in ways that are only just coming to light. For example, digital innovation has been driven by communications, e-commerce, consumer electronics and the PC since the mid-1980s, even though the sector originally depended on the defence industry. This alliance puts government and security back at the forefront.

In other ways though, Aukus reflects a consolidation of how the technology landscape has evolved during the last five years amid greater competition between China and the West and recurrent talk of decoupling.

As well as restricting the US activities of several Chinese companies through its Entities List (most notably, but not exclusively Huawei), Washington has blocked Chinese-led takeovers of companies it considers particularly sensitive, such as Lattice Semiconductor. Aukus itself is then consistent with the recommendation of March's US National Security Commission on AI, chaired by former Google chief Eric Schmidt, that the US needed to not just increase its own efforts but also "rally our closest allies and partners to defend and compete in the coming era of AI-accelerated competition and conflict".

UK regulators are still mulling over US company Nvidias proposed $54bn bid for Cambridge-based Arm partly for national security issues more on that later and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has launched probes into a clutch of others. These include a Chinese-backed deal for semiconductor manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab and one with suggested Chinese involvement involving the takeover of a Welsh graphene specialist, Perpetuus Group.

For its part, China has hardly sought to hide that it views AI and other emerging technologies as key to defence as well as future economic prosperity. Its New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan was published in 2017 and calls for the country to be the world leader in the sector by 2030. It became a policy priority following the 2016 defeat of the world Go champion, Lee Sedol, in a tournament against AlphaGo, an AI developed by UK-based Google subsidiary DeepMind Technologies. Chinas military leaders see Go as an important proving ground in the development of strategic thinking for the battlefield.

The landscape has changed greatly since, also in 2016, Theresa Mays government nodded through Softbanks original acquisition of Arm, back then passing over concerns raised in the Ministry of Defence similar to those being taken more seriously today.

With the AI race well under way whether you like it or not the consolidation within Aukus of the research efforts of the three countries promises not only the technological benefits Tugendhat identifies but also feels like a necessary acceleration.

But there will be a price.

The cycle for delivering consumer and other branches of civilian innovation has shortened from the 18 months in Moores Law to one that is now, to all intents and purposes, annual. Of late, defence applications have often used the benefits of programmable logic to which various secret combinations of spices and sauces would be added. However, it has been clear for a while that the worlds of hardware and software are eliding for AI, and quantum computing will require a shift to entirely new architectures. As a result, what companies can and cannot release to the public, and when, is likely to come under much tighter official scrutiny. Time-to-market vs. Defence of the Realm(s).

Consolidation as well as greater cooperation across the three countries is also a possibility, and this brings things back to Arm-Nvidia. As two world-class companies operating in the technology spaces covered by Aukus, and given the environment the alliance seeks to create, it may be much harder for UK regulators to block the deal. Indeed, they may now want to encourage it. Meanwhile the EU, which has serious antitrust concerns over the union of the leading IP provider with a leading chipmaker, may feel understandable French anger notwithstanding that there is too much political risk in objecting, particularly with some members nervous about the extent of President Joe Bidens commitment to Nato.

Then, some of the more notable consequences may be for the global research infrastructure, one that had become increasingly freewheeling since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Some familiar voices are already proclaiming Aukus as evidence of the Brexit dividend. Never mind the facts that technological collaboration between the three members is already taking place through the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (with New Zealand and Canada, both not part of this agreement); that the US and UK have been sharing the nuclear propulsion research covered since 1958 and already overlap hugely in defence research (e.g., BAE Systems); and that the technological and national security trends in AI and quantum have only surfaced since the referendum vote (Lets spend 250m a week on R&D, anyone? Anyone?)

That said, as emerging technologies are considered more sensitive, governments are going to reconsider how far they can go in undertaking certain types of cutting-edge work through multinational economic bodies like the EU and other civil partnerships rather than military alliances operating under strict secrecy. Just how open exchanges in technical conferences covering those areas can be in future is also now even more up for debate.

These issues have always been there. And they have always been tricky. But are we at a point where they are about to be as tricky as they were half a century ago, and when those who knew how to navigate such territory have either retired or passed away? And, of course, we do not yet know where any boundaries are going to be set.

Many in the UK technology sector will see Aukus as a great opportunity. They are probably right to do so. But, even if not entirely in public view, the three powers involved need to communicate how they expect commercial and academic collaboration to work clearly and, given the alliance positions the areas within its scope as pressing and serious, quickly. Submarines may look like item one on the agenda, but everything else is equally immediate.

Once youve shook things up, you must still reorder them. Ad hoc simply isnt an option. The months ahead will be busy ones. Well, they better had be.

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View from Washington: Aukus looms over AI and quantum - E&T Magazine