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What does it mean to illustrate Steely Dan? Illustrations by Joan LeMay/Courtesy of the University of Texas Press hide caption

What does it mean to illustrate Steely Dan?

This interview originally appeared in NPR Music's weekly newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter here.

Steely Dan is a paradox. As writer Alex Pappademas puts it, it's a "cult band whose catalog ... includes at least a dozen enduring radio hits" two guys who continually found a way to "embed blue-ribbon misanthropy in music designed to go down as smooth as creme de menthe." And like many great paradoxes, there's more to learn about the band the longer you spend considering it. This is true even if you only know a few of those enduring hits. You might recognize the chorus of "Dirty Work," for example but did you know that the man singing lead vocals on that track, David Palmer, once played a high school show alongside The Velvet Underground its first under that name? Did you know that "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" was written for the wife of a faculty member at Bard College, where Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen studied? Or that one of MF Doom's earliest solo tracks samples the opening song on Aja?

In the new book Quantum Criminals, Pappademas and artist Joan LeMay give a roadmap to the Steely Dan extended universe through the lens of the characters at the heart of the band's songs. Alongside Pappademas' explorations, LeMay's paintings render touching portraits of Steely Dan's influences and inheritors, and speculative illustrations of the personalities who populate its world. Their book uncovers the vast constellation of lyrical references, artistic influences and social and political contexts surrounding the band and its music. In this interview, Pappademas and LeMay answered a few questions about their personal histories with Steely Dan and how Quantum Criminals came to be.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Marissa Lorusso: In one of the book's opening chapters, Alex details his evolving relationship with Steely Dan's music, from mild distaste to somewhat ironic engagement to sincere appreciation a path he says has been followed by many Millennial and Gen Z fans. Joan, what's the story of your relationship with Steely Dan did your fandom follow a similar road?

Joan LeMay: Listening to Steely Dan is, honest to God, my first musical memory. Growing up, my parents had a very limited record collection a stack about five inches wide or so. In it was the entire Steely Dan discography (later to include [Donald Fagen's solo debut] The Nightfly; no other Fagen solo records nor any Becker records made the cut), plus lots of Linda Ronstadt, a couple of James Taylor records, The Best of the Doobie Brothers Vol. II, Carole King's Tapestry and Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick. At 2 years old, I was what one would call a tall baby. I would reach for things. And I'd get 'em, too. I clearly remember the day I was able to reach the turntable, my tiny arms at full stretch above my head, and heft an LP upon it until the peg snapped into the hole. That LP was Can't Buy A Thrill. I liked it the most out of all of my parents' records because of the colors on the cover. I plopped down on our diarrhea-brown shag carpet and was pleased. It seems unlikely that I would remember this so clearly, but I was reading the newspaper at that age I peaked early.

How did you decide to approach a book about Steely Dan this way? Why tell the story of the band through the lens of these characters and what inspired both of you to approach this project as an illustrated/written collaboration?

LeMay: In 2020, I got back into the practice of making fanzines. I made two issues of a zine called Mug Club I asked people in the arts to send me a photo of their favorite mug and tell me a story about it, and I'd paint the mug. The paintings and stories were a way to explode the banal/micro into the sublime/macro and serve as a connective creative project in the midst of lockdown. After those, I started making a fanzine called Danzine wherein I planned to paint all 240-something characters in the Steely Dan universe. I got as far as drawing the cover, making a character spreadsheet, doing a few sketches and posting about it on Instagram, partially as a way to keep myself accountable for making the thing.

Aja. Joan LeMay/Courtesy of the University of Texas Press hide caption

Esteemed writer/director Jessica Hopper, one of the editors of the University of Texas Press American Music Series and this book's doula, texted me and said "Joanie? That's not a fanzine. That's a book." Before I posted my thing, she had been talking with Alex about what kind of book he might like to write for the press and he'd responded by pitching a book that was "Bluets, but Steely Dan" ... and she put us together.

Alex Pappademas: Bluets is a collection of short pieces by the incredible poet and nonfiction writer Maggie Nelson that walk the line between autobiography and criticism and prose poetry. I had been reading a lot of Nelson and other nonfiction writers who work in a really pared-down, aphoristic mode and when Jessica and I started talking about me doing a Steely Dan book for UT, I said I wanted to do something really piece-y and fragmentary like that. I don't know that there was any specific Steely Dan-related reason I wanted to do it that way; I just liked the idea of writing these micro-essays where each one would be its own thought about Steely Dan and their music and their place in pop culture/American culture, and themes would build and accumulate the way they do in Nelson's work, or Jenny Offill's or some of David Shields's stuff. By the time Jessica roped Joan into this project, I had an outline for what would have been a Bluets version of this book, but a lot of it was pretty sketchy like, "Chevy Chase" would be a line item on the outline, or "Dan and Race" or "Perfectionism." I mulched on this for just over a year, on and off, before Joan even engaged. And then we didn't get to the proposal until September 2020 deep COVID times. Book was done almost exactly one year from that date, but I'd say most of the writing took about seven months.

Once we merged the idea for Bluets-but-Steely Dan with Joan's idea to paint all the characters, it necessitated a change in my approach; instead of making a deck of cards and trying to assemble them into a narrative it was about seeing how much you could hang on the idea of an individual Steely Dan character and how to use those characters to frame stories that illuminated Steely Dan's legacy in some interesting way.

The chapters in this book give such deep studies of the personalities who populate Steely Dan's songs (and, by extension, of the musicians who brought them to life). Did your relationship with any of these songs change while writing about them, illustrating them, or otherwise getting inside the heads of these characters? Did you learn anything about the songs that genuinely surprised you while working on this project?

LeMay: I learned so much. On our weekly calls, Alex always excitedly ushered me into the entrance of several wormholes he'd been traversing, and it was a constant delight. Thinking deeply about what these characters were wearing, what they might've been doing in the narrative beyond the narrative, thinking about their environment, how they held their faces, how they held their bodies it was an immersive way to listen. I'd had ideas in my head about so many of the characters because I tend to think visually, but there were lots of fantastic surprises, like when we dug into Cathy Berberian, for instance. I'd never looked up what she looked like before.

Cathy Berberian. Joan LeMay/Courtesy of the University of Texas Press hide caption

Pappademas: I think what surprised me the most as I dug deeper into these songs was how much empathy Donald and Walter seemed to have for their characters. It's not something they're usually given credit for the idea people have about them is that they're always snickering amongst themselves, making fun of the people they write about, but I think that's actually more true of somebody like Randy Newman than it is of Becker/Fagen. I think there's always a real sense of humanity's plight underneath whatever coldness or archness is more easily detectable in their work on first blush even when the people they're writing about are doomed or deluded or depraved, you don't get the sense that they're judging these characters, most of the time. There's an attention paid to the human longing that motivates people to these weird actions and they don't judge the longing, of, say, the guy who's hung up on a sex worker in "Pearl of the Quarter" whereas Frank Zappa, given the same storyline, would absolutely write about what a moron that guy is.

Steely Dan's lyrics are famously somewhat cryptic, and Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were quite averse to having their lyrics read as straightforward personal narratives. It's clear that so much research went into illuminating these songs, but there's also a healthy dose of creative speculation, too, both in how the subjects of the songs are described and how they're depicted.

LeMay: The only characters I painted that weren't 100% creative speculation (and really, less speculation and more my personal interpretation) were those having to do with actual, living people, like Cathy Berberian, Jill St. John and G. Gordon Liddy. I had a folder on my computer called "DAN CASTING GALLERY" full of images of people in my life, found photos, '60s and '70s fashion catalogs, advertisements and sewing pattern packaging. I painted from a melange of those images mixed with things that had been in my head forever, as well as from a ton of photos of my own body posing in different ways for reference. The most important thing to me was getting the humanity the profoundly flawed humanity of these characters right.

Pappademas: And it works I try to get across that humanity in the text, but having Joan populate this world with real human faces made the finished product into something greater than I could have gotten to on my own.

The Gaucho. Joan LeMay/Courtesy of the University of Texas Press hide caption

Anyway, my answer to the question above is that when I'm writing criticism, for sure, but also when I'm writing reported pieces, I feel like there's always an element of creative speculation in what I do. It's just more or less constrained by facts depending on what kind of piece it is. Even if you've sat in a room with somebody for hours you're ultimately imagining their inner life based on what they've told you, and sometimes on what they haven't told you. In terms of Quantum Criminals, yeah, Steely Dan definitely tried to discourage any attempt to read these lyrics autobiographically and the fact that all their lyrics were composed by (or at least credited to) two writers was their first line of defense against that kind of reading, because even when they're writing in the first person you're conscious that the "I" in every Dan song is to whatever degree a fictional character and therefore a distancing device. But I think it's human nature or at least it's my human nature to intuit the opposite and look for places where the art seems to correspond to what we know to be the contours of an artist's life. Because the other thing about Steely Dan is they liked to obfuscate; the fact that they rarely owned up to their music having an autobiographical component (with certain exceptions, notably "Deacon Blues," which they admitted was pretty personal) doesn't mean it wasn't autobiographical. And at times as with "Gaucho," a song about a duo torn apart by a third party who might be the personification of drugs or other forms of hedonism, recorded for the album Donald made mostly without Walter because Walter's addiction issues had pulled him away from the band the correspondences became too tempting to not explore. Which is what happens when you write cryptically; it's human nature to decrypt.

I don't know; I guess I'm doing the same thing Taylor Swift's fans do when they decide that some opaque lyric is an Easter egg about this or that relationship of hers, or what A.J. Weberman was doing when he decided "The sun isn't yellow, it's chicken" was Bob Dylan confessing to faking his own death, or what the people who think The Shining was Stanley Kubrick exorcizing his guilt over faking the moon landing. The difference is that I think I'm right and I think those other people are all nuts, because I'm in my bubble and can't imagine the view from theirs.

Finally, what do you hope readers be they longtime devotees, newly converted fans or Steely Dan skeptics take away from Quantum Criminals?

LeMay: I think that in a lot of ways, this book can be read as something that's about the ridiculous cacophony of what it is to be a person in the world, striving to do something you're happy with. In a lot of other ways, it is a real invitation to truly dive into what you love with reckless abandon to dream about it hard, to see and hear and appreciate the small details and the big ways you feel as a result of giving yourself the gift of paying attention. I hope that readers come away from the book thinking about all the ways they have yet to enjoy not just Steely Dan, but anything that moves them.

Pappademas: I hope people come away from this book thinking about how, even though perfectionism can undo you as an artist and any book about how to make your art will tell you that over and over, there's still something noble and useful about aspiring to perfection that there's magic in the falling-short but also in the reaching-for. I also hope these stories inspire young people to say no to drugs.

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Steely Dan authors reveal the pretzel logic behind 'Quantum Criminals' - NPR

President Joe Biden signs the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 into law on Aug. 9, 2022. The Commerce Department is launching the application process for cities to receive a total of $500 million in grants to become tech hubs of artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotech and other fields. (AP photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday launched the application process for cities to receive a total of $500 million in grants to become technology hubs.

The $500 million is part of a $10 billion authorization from last years CHIPS and Science Act to stimulate investments in new technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and biotech. Its an attempt to expand tech investment that is largely concentrated around a few U.S. cities Austin, Texas; Boston; New York; San Francisco; and Seattle to the rest of the country.

This is about taking these places on the edge of glory to being world leaders, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told The Associated Press. My job is to enhance Americas competitiveness.

The Biden administration has made it a priority to set an industrial strategy of directing government investment into computer chips, clean energy and a range of other technologies. Officials say that being leaders in those fields will foster economic and national security, reflecting a belief that the best way to compete against Chinas ascendance will come from building internal strength.

The tech hubs are meant to build up areas that already have major research specialties but lack the access to financing that could fuel stronger growth and business formation in those fields. Pockets of the U.S. already have leading-edge tech such as medical devices in Minnesota, robotics in Pittsburgh and agricultural technology in Fresno, California. But the challenge has been finding ways to boost those fields so that government investment leads to more support from private capital.

To qualify for the tech hub money, each applicant will need a partnership that includes one or more companies, a state development agency, worker training programs, a university and state and local government leaders. Roughly 20 cities are expected to be designated as tech hubs with 10 eventually receiving funding.

President Joe Biden hopes to broaden the funding over time, requesting in his budget proposal that Congress appropriate another $4 billion for it over the next two years. Raimondo said that she expects a large number of applications from across the political spectrum.

The tech hubs program, formally the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub Program, ties into a political message that Biden has delivered in speeches. The Democratic president has said that people should not feel forced to leave their hometowns to find good jobs nor should opportunity cluster in just a few parts of the country while other regions struggle.

You shouldnt have to move to Silicon Valley if youre a scientist with a great idea, Raimondo said.

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Grants worth $500M to fund tech hubs across US - Journal Record

A young Indian scientist and his colleagues have come out with what may be the building block of a practical quantum computer, opening a new door to realise the long-awaited number cruncher that may be more commonly available than the few machines that now exist in secluded laboratories around the world.

What the trio of Michael Kues, Hatam Mahmudlu and Raktim Haldar and their colleagues in Germany and Netherlands have done is to come out with an ultra-small, robust, stable and scalable chip to produce photonic qubits (quantum equivalent of bits) using a novel and tricky architecture for designing.

The photonic chip they created can operate in room temperature and does not need a super-cold environment close to Absolute Zero (minus 273 degrees Celsius) that most of the current crop of quantum computers including the ones made by IBM requires. Googles Sycamore quantum processor also needs a similar cryogenic condition.

Also read |Scientists use brain scans and AI to 'decode' thoughts

We developed the world's first fully-integrated on-chip quantum light source that works at room temperature. The chip can be commercially-viable bringing the required stability and scalability for a quantum computer, Halder, who graduated from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and currently researching in Germany told DH.

The chip whose size is less than a one euro coin contains a fully operating laser and noise filter. Such tiny and compact qubit sources can be used as a building block of any quantum processors, or can reduce the payload of quantum satellites, he added.

For decades, scientists have been exploring different avenues to come up with quantum computers with little success. Last month India also announced a Rs 6,000 crore national mission to develop quantum computers, communication and sensors.

There are multiple routes to develop quantum computers, but the commonest approach is using a super-conducting platform as qubits can be controlled easily in such a platform.

However, on the downside, creating a super-conducting state requires huge investment to create a cryogenic environment. Tech giants like IBM and Google followed such an approach.

A second route using photons (light particles) is also being probed as photonics doesnt require cryogenic temperatures and hence is an advantage over systems that need stringent cooling.

The photonic qubit architectures are quite different and in principle can lend itself to more scalability, provided technical issues are resolved, explained an Indian quantum scientist not associated with Halders project.

Photonic quantum computers need special photonic chips, which are not new. But the problem with the current generation of such chips is that they needed to be connected to bulky lasers as big as a table and big filters to work.

The entire process is cumbersome, requires a laboratory and an expert hand to operate the laser. In addition such chips are also unstable.

Halder and his team at the Institute of Photonics at Leibniz University have overcome this fundamental challenge. They have been able to cram an entire laser and a filter onto a single chip, which have not been possible before.

Moreover, due to an efficient filter, the chip is capable of delivering qubits without errors by efficiently removing noise, which is essential for building quantum computers. In addition, it is very small, light, easy to carry and above all doesn't require any special skills to operate.

"Our breakthrough allowed us to shrink the laser size by a factor of more than 1000 allowing reproducibility, stability over a longer time, scaling, and potentially mass-production. All these characteristics are required for real-world applications such as quantum processors, said Michael Kues who heads the Institute of Photonics.

The study has recently been published in Nature Photonics.

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Indian scientist among those who made building blocks of quantum computer - Deccan Herald

Cryptocurrencies are here to stay, there is no doubt about it. Over the past few years, cryptocurrency has surged in its adoption and development. The likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum are on the cusp of mainstream recognition, with the global cryptocurrency market cap surpassing the $2 trillion mark in 2021, rivaling even the biggest companies in the world like Apple AAPL.

Although traditional cryptocurrencies offer numerous benefits and use cases, the vast majority of investors have seemingly overlooked a looming danger quantum risk. Indeed, the security of popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is threatened in the medium-to-long term, with advances in AI poised to collapse those timelines even further.

Enter the Quantum Resistant Ledger, or QRL the world's leading post-quantum store of value at the forefront of tackling this industry-wide risk. In the following article, we will delve deep into the threats of quantum computing and examine how QRL offers a solution.

Before diving into the quantum threat to Bitcoin and Ethereum, it's worth understanding what quantum computers are and how they work.

Quantum computers are superpowered computers. They use principles of quantum mechanics the study of tiny particles to perform complex calculations much faster than classical computers.

The security of traditional cryptocurrencies is based on intricate mathematical processes known as hashing algorithms, as well as digital keys that employ public-key cryptography. Together, these systems discourage tampering by making it extremely expensive and challenging for malicious users to exploit the system.

The emergence of quantum computers threatens to upend this security paradigm. Due to their unmatched processing capabilities, quantum computers are expected to ultimately enable bad actors to bypass the disincentives against tampering with alarming ease.

Ethereum (ETH) is the most well-known altcoin in the cryptocurrency space and the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Ethereum is a publicly shared global computer network it provides a decentralized and secure network for developers to build applications.

Fortunately, quantum-centric computers with 50 to 1,000 qubits of power, such as IBM's IBM Quantum Osprey, pose a limited threat to Ethereum at the moment. However, if they continue to develop and amass more processing power in the form of qubits, the implications are scary.

According to a recent study by Deloitte, about 65% of all ether coins are vulnerable to a quantum attack, and this number has been continuously increasing. There are two types of attacks that have the potential to exploit this vulnerability:

Bitcoin is the most secure and decentralized cryptocurrency in the market. While Bitcoin may be largely considered as safe for now, many other less decentralized and secure cryptocurrencies cant say the same.

In light of these potential threats to Bitcoin, Ethereum and the broader cryptocurrency market, the Quantum Resistant Ledger (QRL) emerges as an innovative solution.

QRL ensures the long-term security of digital assets by employing a cryptographic technique called eXtended Merkle Signature Scheme (XMSS), recognized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). While its underlying processes can require some study to grasp, whats important to know is that it is designed to allow for secure and efficient transaction authentication when taking into account the capacities of quantum computers.

Moreover, QRL's unique blockchain technology not only protects transactions but also secures communications. Combining advanced techniques such as on-chain lattice key storage and layer-to-internode communication, QRL creates a highly secure messaging system that remains safe from quantum computer threats.

If blockchain technology wants to stay ahead of the quantum risk in the next 10-15 years, current blockchains need to evolve into quantum-resistant ledger systems. Unfortunately, it isnt feasible or possible for many current blockchains to make this shift before the threat arrives.

This is why blockchains like QRL could be the future, taking into account the quantum risk posed by quantum supercomputers. QRL is a promising solution, with a rich API and user interface, and it offers an effective defense against ever-evolving quantum computers.

Featured Photo by Towfiqu Barbhuiya on Unsplash

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Why Traditional Cybersecurity Measures Likely Won't Cut It For ... - Benzinga

WISeKeys Semiconductors Subsidiary SEALSQ Technology and Services Provide Countries the Ability to Develop Their Own Semiconductor Personalization Centers

WISeKeys Semiconductors Subsidiary SEALSQ T echnology and S ervices Provide Countries the Ability to D evelop T heir O wn S emiconductor P ersonalization Centers

GENEVA May 4, 2023: WISeKey International Holding Ltd. (WISeKey) (SIX: WIHN, NASDAQ: WKEY), aleading global cybersecurity, AI, Blockchain, and semiconductors company, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiarySEALSQCorp(SEALSQ) is offering countries via a PPP the technology and services the ability to develop their own semiconductors personalization centers. The objective of this initiative is to reduce dependency on semiconductors manufacturing and deployment of microchips.

With the ongoing global shortage of semiconductors, countries around the world are realizing the importance of securing their supply chains for critical technologies. In response to this need, WISeKey via SEALSQ.com is offering a comprehensive solution that will enable countries to establish their own semiconductor personalization centers via a Public Private Partnership. These centers will provide local production and customization of SEALSQ microchips, reducing reliance on foreign suppliers and enhancing supply chain security.

"We are excited to offer this solution to countries looking to reduce their dependency on foreign semiconductor manufacturers via SEALSQ.com," said Carlos Moreira, CEO of WISeKey. "By establishing their own semiconductor personalization centers, countries can take control of their supply chains and ensure the security and reliability of their critical technologies."

WISeKey via SEALSQ's solution includes a range of services and technology, including secure elements, root of trust, cryptographic keys, and hardware security modules. The company will provide the necessary hardware, software, and training to establish and operate the personalization centers, as well as ongoing support and maintenance.

The solution is particularly relevant for industries such as automotive, aerospace, and health, where the need for secure and reliable microchips is critical. By establishing local personalization centers, countries can ensure that their industries have access to the necessary microchips, even during times of global shortage. The establishment of personalization centers will also create jobs and boost local economies. This initiative will not only enhance supply chain security, but also contribute to the economic development of participating countries.

WISeKey via SEALSQ is currently in discussions with several countries regarding the establishment of semiconductor personalization centers. The company is committed to providing a comprehensive solution that meets the unique needs of each country. Earlier this year, WISeKey via SEALSQ started offering its Security Services and Semiconductors to IoT device manufacturers adopting Matter Protocol, the leading standard for smart home devices from the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). WISeKeys Root Certificate Authority (CA) has been approved by the CSA for Matter device attestation and becomes a Product Attestation Authority (PAA).

Matter, an industry-led effort of the CSA, brings together the world's leading manufacturers and service providers to achieve secure, reliable and seamless use of smart home devices. Matter enables IP-based networking and communication across smart home devices, mobile applications and smart home ecosystems. Matter devices offer consumers assurances of secure use through a consortium-led standard for authenticating device identity that only allows Matter-certified devices to connect to the network. Device attestation process allows existing Matter devices to locally confirm new ones when recognized by the local network, and quickly remove non-compliant devices when needed.

With the widespread adoption of Matter certification, the demand for semiconductors is expected to increase. This is because smart home devices require a range of semiconductors, including microcontrollers, sensors, and wireless communication chips. The implementation of Matter certification will lead to the development of more smart home devices, which will require the production and deployment of more semiconductors. Furthermore, as the smart home market continues to grow, the demand for semiconductors will increase. The global smart home market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 29.3% from 2020 to 2027, according to a report by Allied Market Research. This growth is driven by factors such as the increasing adoption of smart home devices, the rise in demand for energy-efficient devices, and the growing awareness of home security and safety.

SEALSQ is also making great progress on post quantum technology. The SEALSQ Post-Quantum engineering team has been able to carry both Kyber and Dilithium CRYSTAL quantum-resistant NIST selected algorithms and the appropriate APIs on the MS6003, a WISeKey Common Criteria EAL5+ Certified secure hardware platform powered by an ARMSC300 core and featuring an USB interface, thus creating the first Quantum-Resistant USB Token demonstrator. This demonstrator marks a substantial milestone for the QUASARS project and takes the team one step closer to achieving their goal of building a Post-Quantum Hardware Security Module and Root-of-Trust.

WISeKey, through SEALSQ, has taken affirmative steps to implement its QUASARS project. The QUASARS project, is a radically innovative solution, based upon the new WISeKey Secure RISC V platform that is paving the way for the Post Quantum Cryptography era, offering hybrid solutions compliant with ANSSIs (Agence nationale de la scurit des systmes dinformation, the National Cybersecurity Agency of France) recommendations. Of note, SEALSQ has received strong support from the French SCS (Secured Communicating Solutions) Cluster for its QUASARS project.

Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) refers to cryptographic methods that are secure against an attack by a quantum computer. As quantum computers become more powerful, they may be able to break many of the cryptographic methods that are currently used to protect sensitive information, such as RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). PQC aims to develop new cryptographic methods that are secure against quantum attacks.

One example of a Post-Quantum technology is the lattice-based cryptography, a type of public-key cryptography based on the hardness of a mathematical problem called the Shortest Vector Problem (SVP) which is thought to be too difficult for a quantum computer to solve. Lattice-based cryptography can be used for tasks such as digital signatures, key exchange, and encryption.

Another example is code-based cryptography, which is based on the difficulty of decoding certain algebraic structures called error-correcting codes. These codes can be used to create digital signatures, key exchange, and encryption schemes that are secure against quantum attacks. It is worth noting that PQC is still in its early stages of development and there is ongoing research to identify and improve the most promising post-quantum techniques.

WISeKey is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) project, a new secure platform, that will help define best practices for performing trusted network-layer onboarding, and aid in the implementation and use of trusted onboarding solutions for IoT devices at scale.

Additional information on this consortium can be found at: http://www.nccoe.nist.gov/projects/trusted-iot-device-network-layer-onboarding-and-lifecycle-management .

About SEALSQ

SEALSQ is a wholly owned subsidiary of the WISeKey Group that focuses on developing and selling Semiconductors, PKI and Post-Quantum technology hardware and software products. Our Post-Quantum solutions include Post-Quantum microchips and devices that can be used in a variety of applications, from Multi-Factor Authentication devices, Home Automation, and IT Network Infrastructure, to Automotive, Industrial Automation and Control Systems.

Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) refers to cryptographic methods that are secure against an attack by a quantum computer. As quantum computers become more powerful, they may be able to break many of the cryptographic methods that are currently used to protect sensitive information, such as RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). PQC aims to develop new cryptographic methods that are secure against quantum attacks. For more information, visit http://www.sealsq.com .

About WISeKey

WISeKey (NASDAQ: WKEY; SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems for people and objects using Blockchain, AI and IoT respecting the Human as the Fulcrum of the Internet. WISeKey microprocessors secure the pervasive computing shaping todays Internet of Everything. WISeKey IoT has an install base of over 1.5 billion microchips in virtually all IoT sectors (connected cars, smart cities, drones, agricultural sensors, anti-counterfeiting, smart lighting, servers, computers, mobile phones, crypto tokens etc.). WISeKey is uniquely positioned to be at the edge of IoT as our semiconductors produce a huge amount of Big Data that, when analyzed with Artificial Intelligence (AI), can help industrial applications to predict the failure of their equipment before it happens.

Our technology is Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKeys Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust (RoT) provides secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions among objects and between objects and people. For more information, visit http://www.wisekey.com .

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Disclaimer: This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.

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WISeKey's Semiconductors Subsidiary SEALSQ Technology and ... - InvestorsObserver