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The Pentagon in Arlington, Va., as seen on Sept. 17, 2021. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg)

The U.S. Department of Defense's outgoing chief data officer called for the Pentagon to make urgent investments to defend against potential espionage from quantum computers -- nascent technology that could one day break the encryption that protects American secrets.

In his first interview since leaving his post last month, David Spirk, who spent two years in his role, told Bloomberg News that the Pentagon needs to speed up efforts to counter adversaries who are developing military tools supported by advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and eventually quantum science.

Quantum computing may prove far more able than existing technology to solve mathematical problems at exponentially faster speeds. That could enable operators to unscramble the algorithms that underpin encryption protocols, unlocking an array of sensitive data.

"I don't think that there's enough senior leaders getting their heads around the implications of quantum," Spirk said. "Like AI, I think that's a new wave of compute that when it arrives is going to be a pretty shocking moment to industry and government alike."

"We have to pick up pace because we have competitors who are also attempting to accelerate," he added.

Spirk's comments come amid warnings that U.S. adversaries, particularly China, are aggressively pursuing advanced technologies that could radically accelerate the pace of modern warfare. China is investing in AI and quantum sciences as part of its plan to become an innovation superpower, according to the Pentagon's latest annual report to Congress on China's military power. China is "at or near the lead on numerous science fields," including AI and quantum, it said.

The National Security Agency, meanwhile, said last year that the adversarial use of a quantum computer "could be devastating" to the U.S. and its national security systems. The NSA said it could take 20 years or more to roll out new post-quantum cryptography that would resist such code-cracking.

Tim Gorman, a spokesperson at the Pentagon, said the Department of Defense was taking post-quantum cryptography seriously and coordinating with Congress and across government agencies. He added there was "a significant effort" underway.

A January presidential memo further charged agencies with establishing a timeline for transitioning to quantum resistant cryptography.

Among the efforts underway to bolster defenses against quantum-based attacks, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, known as NIST, is seeking to select new quantum-proof encryption algorithms from seven finalists shortly as part of a global competition.

Jonathan Katz, computer science professor at the University of Maryland who submitted a "post-quantum algorithm" to the NIST competition, said the stakes in the NIST competition were high: an algorithm that later proved vulnerable would be "a disaster." Once a choice is made, the U.S. Department of Defense faces a huge task in upgrading all its software and hardware that features algorithms, he said, adding that included not only servers and laptops but also parts of submarines, tanks, helicopters and weapons systems.

Experts generally assess large-scale quantum computing may be 15 to 20 years away if it is ever even developed, but the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Agency, or DARPA, launched a project this February to explore the possibility that a breakthrough could be developed "much sooner."

Joe Altepeter, who manages DARPA's new quantum project, told Bloomberg there was a lot of "hype" over industry claims about the arrival of quantum computing, with several "hardware miracles" still standing in the way. Some of the smartest physicists he knew were divided over whether useful quantum computing would ever exist, Altepeter said, adding that the risk was such that it was important to develop resilient systems.

Spirk said the Pentagon needs to start preparing "now," arguing military applications for quantum computing could be only five to 10 years away. The Pentagon needed to work at the same speed as commercial vendors that are already exploring ways to use quantum-resistant cryptography to safeguard financial and health-care sectors, he said.

If the U.S. doesn't make the right investments in defensive quantum today, "then our concepts around encryption, data security and cybersecurity will be obsolete because the computers will break our cryptography," Spirk said. He added that all the encrypted data that adversaries have already gathered would also risk exposure.

Spirk, a former U.S. Marine, became the first chief data officer at Special Operations Command before he joined the Pentagon. He said he left the chief data officer post after a two-year commitment to rejoin his family in Florida. The departure follows last year's resignation of the U.S. Air Force's first chief software officer, Nicolas Chaillan, who previously told the Financial Times that the U.S. was losing the AI race to China.

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Pentagon's outgoing data boss warns of quantum cyber threats - Stars and Stripes

Yales hub for quantum research will soon entangle the campus in the best possible sense in a full week of mind-bending science, artistry, and discussion devoted to the wonders of quantum research.

Quantum Week at Yale, organized by the Yale Quantum Institute (YQI), will feature a hackathon, a lab tour, a movie screening, a record launch party, hands-on computer programming, a superconductive jewelry display, and an assortment of quantum-related library and museum exhibits.

The activities begin April 8 and run through April 14. A full list of events is availablehere.

Yales quantum scientists are at the very top of this field, said Florian Carle, YQI manager and coordinator for the event. We want to take some of the excitement we see in the labs and at YQI and share it with the rest of the campus.

Quantum science delves into the physical properties that explain the behavior of subatomic particles, atoms, and molecules. Over the past century, quantum research has transformed disciplines as diverse as physics, engineering, mathematics, chemistry, computer science, and materials science.

Over the past 20 years, Yale researchers have propelled quantum research, particularly in quantum information science and quantum computing, with a series of groundbreaking discoveries including the first demonstration of two-qubit algorithms with a superconducting quantum processor.

Yales research has led to unprecedented control over individual quantum objects, whether those objects are naturally occurring microscopic systems such as atoms, or macroscopic, human-made systems with engineered properties. Researchers say these advances may soon enable them to perform otherwise intractable computations, ensure privacy in communications, better understand and design novel states of matter, and develop new types of sensors and measurement devices.

This is the time when computer scientists, mathematicians, physicists, and engineers are all coming together, said Yongshan Ding, assistant professor of computer science, who will lead a programming workshop on April 14 that shows visitors including those without any experience with quantum computing how to play with quantum interference patterns.

People can just code away, Ding said. My vision is that by exposing people to these activities, we can build a quantum-native programming language. This is a new paradigm of computation, so were going to need new ways to program for it.

YQI has partnered with 18 Yale departments and centers to create 23 events for Quantum Week at Yale. One of the challenges in organizing the week, Carle explained, was developing an engaging mix of activities suited for both experienced researchers and quantum science novices.

To that end, the week is organized around four components: Understanding Quantum, Art & Quantum, Career and Entrepreneurship, and For Researchers.

The hands-on programming event, for example, comes under the Understanding Quantum banner. Other include an April 9-10 Quantum Coalition Hack, hosted by the Yale Undergraduate Quantum Computer Club; an April 11 tour of superconducting qubit laboratories; and a quantum-related exhibit of rare books at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library on April 11.

Were always looking for ways that our libraries can engage with the academic work going on at Yale, said Andrew Shimp, who consulted on Quantum Week events at Yale libraries. Shimp is Yales librarian for engineering, applied science, chemistry, and mathematics. One of the unique things a Yale library can offer is the chance to view rare collections that arent necessarily digitized yet.

The quantum exhibit at the Beinecke Library, for example, includes materials from quantum science pioneers such as Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, and Max Planck. There is also an astronomy textbook, published in 1511, that includes the word quantum in its title. The title is Textus de Sphera Johannis de Sacrobosco: cum additione (quantum necessarium est) adiecta / Nouo commentario nuper edito ad vtilitate[m] studentiu[m] philosophice Parisien[em]. A brief English translation would be Sphere of Sacrobosco.

Under the Art & Quantum heading, there will be an April 8 screening of the 2013 indie thriller Coherence; a visual arts competition called Visualize Science hosted by Wright Lab on April 13; a launch party for Quantum Sound (a record project begun at YQI in 2018) on April 13; a display of Superconductive Jewelry throughout the week at YQI; a Quantum and the Arts exhibit all week at the Arts Library; an April 13 event hosted by the Yale Schwarzman Center devoted to historical preservation of technology ephemera, called Dumpster Diving: Historical Memory and Quantum Physics at Yale; and a new exhibit at the New Haven Museum, The Quantum Revolution, that opens April 13 and features drawings by former YQI artist in residence Martha Willette Lewis.

Carle is curator for the New Haven Museum exhibit. We wanted to show the evolution of quantum science at Yale, he said. It will take people from some of the first qubits in 1998 to Badger, the dilution refrigerator that ran the first two-qubit algorithms with a superconducting quantum processor in 2009.

Quantum computers require extremely cold temperatures near absolute zero in order to reduce operational errors.

The weeks Career and Entrepreneurship component will include a discussion of quantum startups hosted by The Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale (Tsai CITY) on April 12; a conversation with IBMs Mark Ritter on the global implications of quantum research, hosted by the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs on April 12; a session on how to access market research for major industry analysts, hosted by the Yale University Library, on April 12; and a series of panel discussions on how to join the quantum workforce.

Finally, the For Researchers component of Quantum Week at Yale will feature a quantum sensing workshop at Wright Lab on April 8; and an April 14 lecture by quantum researcher Nathan Wiebe of the University of Washington.

The final day for Quantum Week at Yale, April 14, also happens to be World Quantum Day, Carle said. Our hope is that by then, students all over campus will be aware of quantum work being done here and want to explore it themselves in some way.

Originally posted here:
Quantum Week at Yale geared toward novices and experts alike - India Education Diary

image:Prof. Dr. Symeon CHATZINOTAS view more

Credit: University of Luxembourg

The University of Luxembourg's Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT), in collaboration with the Department of Media, Connectivity and Digital Policy (SMC) of the Ministry of State, today announces the development of the Luxembourg Quantum Communication Infrastructure Laboratory (LUQCIA). The 5-year project is funded by the European Unions Recovery and Resilience Facility in the context of the NextGenerationEU initiative, and will aim to build a national testbed in 2023 to enable advanced and applied research in quantum key distribution and quantum internet a vital stage in the next generation of computing and internet usage.

Luxembourg wants to remain the state-of-the-art communication hub it has become over the last decade. That is why we have taken it upon ourselves, through SnTs scientific leadership, to lay the groundwork for tomorrows quantum communication infrastructure, stated Prime Minister and Minister for Communication and Media, Xavier Bettel.

The Minister of Finance, Yuriko Backes, commented: I would like to pay particular tribute to the pioneering role of SnT, in collaboration with the SMC, in the development of quantum communication technologies. It is one of the national Recovery and Resilience Plans key measures for the digital transition. The EU funds will actively support Luxembourg to improve the security of public sector communications as part of a wider European project.

The LUQCIA infrastructure will give University of Luxembourg researchers unique tools to optimise cybersecurity for the upcoming quantum communication technology, stated the rector of the University of Luxembourg, Stphane Pallage.

Future-proofing secure communication

Most of the data we exchange over the internet is secured through keys that encrypt and decrypt information. As computers are made with increasingly greater computing power, the time it takes for a hacker to be able to break this encryption becomes shorter and shorter. However, an emerging field of cybersecurity called quantum key distribution (QKD) aims to better secure our data even against quantum computers an upcoming generation of extremely powerful computers that, when launched on a wide scale, could leave our information wide open to attackers.

LUQCIA aims to develop and implement an ultra-secure communication infrastructure based on quantum technology. The aim is to connect at least two geographical sites within the LUQCIA research infrastructure. LUQCIA will rely primarily on a terrestrial network and will integrate the space segment through follow-up activities.

Developing a robust quantum communication infrastructure leveraging both terrestrial and satellite optical links will guarantee the security of our data in our communications network well into our future. It will also help to realise the future of a quantum internet by interconnecting high-performance quantum computers, said Principal Investigator of the project, Prof. Symeon Chatzinotas.

Once up and running in 2023, the LUQCIA lab will be open to national and international stakeholders for joint research activities in the framework of SnTs Partnership Programme.

About SnT

The Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg conducts internationally competitive research in information and communication technology. In addition to long-term, high-risk research,SnTengages in demand-driven collaborative projects with industry and the public sector through its PartnershipProgramme. The resulting concepts present a genuine, long-lasting competitive advantage for companies in Luxembourg and beyond.www.snt.uni.lu

About the University of Luxembourg

The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character. The University was founded in 2003 and counts nearly 7,000 students and over 2,000 employees from around the world. The Universitys faculties and interdisciplinary centres focus on research in the areas of Computer Science and ICT Security, Materials Science, European and International Law, Finance and Financial Innovation, Education, Contemporary and Digital History. In addition, the University focuses on cross-disciplinary research in the areas of Data Modelling and Simulation as well as Health and System Biomedicine. The University of Luxembourg offers 17 Bachelors, 46 Masters Degrees and custom-made training programmes for Ph.D. candidates in 4 doctoral schools. Times Higher Education ranks the University of Luxembourg #3 worldwide for its international outlook, #25 in the Young University Ranking 2022 and among the top 250-300 universities worldwide. http://www.uni.lu

About the Recovery and Resilience Facility

As part of a wide-ranging response, the aim of the Recovery and Resilience Facility is to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions. The RRF helps the EU achieve its target of climate neutrality by 2050 and sets Europe on a path of digital transition, creating jobs and spurring growth in the process. Luxembourgs recovery and resilience plan contains 20 measures (8 reforms and 12 investments) which will help the country become more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions. Those measures will be financed by93millionin grants.61%of the plan will supportclimate objectivesand32%will foster thedigital transition.

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University's SnT to build the first testbed for quantum communication infrastructure in Luxembourg - EurekAlert

Ever wondered why your credit score is what it is? Have you stored private information in the cloud that you want to remain that way? Thought about investing in cryptocurrency? Worried about cyber warfare?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, quantum computing plays a role in your lifeor at least, it will when its usage becomes practical enough to run the systems that run our daily lives.

Thats where Ryan Behunins work comes in.

Behunin, an assistant professor of applied physics and materials science and a researcher in NAUs Center for Materials Interfaces in Research & Applications (MIRA!), explores fundamental questions about the interaction of light, sound and matter. His latest research project, Controlling noise in quantum devices with light and sound, was funded with an almost $500,000 NSF CAREER grant, which supports early-career faculty in their groundbreaking research.

This work targets challenges to realizing practical quantum computers by helping the building blocks of quantum computers, termed qubits, perform better. That is critical because quantum computers have the potential to solve certain problems that are not tractable using traditional computing technology. The challenge is that, currently, the technology is too vulnerable to disturbances in the environment that corrupt the information stored in quantum computerstoo full of noise, as it wereto reach its full potential.

Behunins goal is to quiet that noise.

Theoretically, quantum physics can enable powerful new computers that achieve massive exponential speedups over traditional forms of computing, permitting calculations that currently are intractable Behunin said. Practically, however, the very quantumfeatures that enable these remarkable properties are rapidly erased by process termed decoherence, which is not unlike the way a plucked guitar string eventually relaxes.

As a result, decoherence limits the lifetime of quantum states, posing challenges for practical quantum technologies. This project will show how decoherence can be controlled by manipulating sound waves.

Noise in quantum mechanics operates much like static on the radio, making it difficult to hear the signal. The most problematic source of noise for many quantum devices is from two-level tunneling states, or TLSs. Theyre not well understood, but they are everywhere, and physicists have yet to find an effective way to quiet TLSs. This research will leverage the strong interaction between TLSs and sound waves to develop new techniques that control and reduce this source of noise.

The answers Behunin is looking for have implications for cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and areas like drug development; faster, more accessible quantum computing could mean faster and more affordable creation of drugs or other organic materials.

We can take a big step toward practical quantum technology if we can show how noise can be controlled and reduced in quantum devices, Behunin said.

This project also will focus on giving research opportunities to students from populations that are historically underrepresented in the field of physics, including women and minority groups. In addition to its groundbreaking research, MIRA!s mission is to increase diversity in these fields. Recruiting students into labs like Behunins is a big part of that mission, as is outreach to K-12 students to get them excited about STEM research long before they enter college. Thats why part of this project includes Behunin teaching a free mini course on quantum physics at Tynkertopia, a nonprofit STEAM center located in Flagstaffs Sunnyside neighborhood.

Scientifically, were trying to answer deep materials science questionsnamely, what are TLSs and how can we get rid of them? Behunin said. With regard to diversity, this project aims to engage communities that are underrepresented in the sciences. The goal is to increase access and exposure to quantum science in our underserved communities.

Learn more about MIRA!.

Heidi Toth | NAU Communications(928) 523-8737 | heidi.toth@nau.edu

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How a physicist aims to reduce the noise in quantum computing The NAU Review - NAU News

SYDNEY, March 30, 2022 Q-CTRL, a global leader in developing useful quantum technologies, today announced a partnership with The Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Switzerlands largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences, to pioneer R&D in the scale-up of quantum computers. The strategic partnership will leverage Q-CTRL and PSIs combined expertise to deliver transformational capabilities to the broader research community.

This partnership builds on the collaboration of PSI and ETH Zurich, one of the worlds premier public research universities and a quantum science powerhouse, who formed the ETH Zurich PSI Quantum Computing Hub in May 2021 on PSIs campus in Villigen. Both are working to translate groundbreaking quantum computing research into building systems at scale. Theyve now partnered with Q-CTRL to provide the critical infrastructure software tools for system characterization, AI-based automation, and hardware optimization that are essential for large-scale quantum computing to become reality.

Q-CTRLs focus on solving the automation and performance challenges in large-scale quantum computing align perfectly with the PSI Quantum Computing Hubs mission, said Q-CTRL Founder and CEO Professor Michael J. Biercuk. Were honored to partner with the exceptional engineers and researchers at PSI to combine their system engineering prowess with infrastructure software to truly move the research field forward.

As PSI seeks to scale up quantum hardware, Q-CTRLs unique expertise in quantum control and AI-based automation makes the company a natural fit to help accelerate the pathway to the first useful quantum computers. Both teams have extensive experience in quantum computing based on trapped ions, including specialized approaches in error correction leveraging the unique properties of trapped ions. Together, PSI and Q-CTRL will aim to solve the critical challenges enabling large-scale, quantum-error-corrected quantum computing to become a reality.

Q-CTRLs hardware agnostic, yet hardware-aware tools will be very valuable in finding optimal control solutions that ensure uniform performance across larger qubit arrays, said Dr. Cornelius Hempel, Group head, Ion Trap Quantum Computing, Paul Scherrer Institute. As we go to larger and larger machines and continuous operation of testbeds, efficient and automated tuneup and calibration procedures become an essential aspect of day-to-day operations its just not possible to continue using brute-force approaches at scale. Our team is very excited to leverage the tools the Q-CTRL team has developed in this space.

The computational power of quantum computing is expected to deliver transformational capabilities in applications ranging from drug discovery and enterprise logistics to finance. However, the underlying hardware is extremely unstable and fragile, hampering these machines from reaching their full potential. Q-CTRL is focused on delivering hardware-agnostic and fully automated error-suppressing enterprise software that will enable useful quantum computing for organizations around the world. Its team was recently awarded a US SBIR grant from the Department of Energy focused on quantum computer automation, and this partnership will build on those research developments.

To learn more about Q-CTRL, please visit: q-ctrl.com.

About Q-CTRL

Q-CTRL is building the quantum technology industry by overcoming the fundamental challenge in the field hardware error and instability. Q-CTRLs quantum control infrastructure software for R&D professionals and quantum computing end users delivers the highest performance error-correcting and suppressing techniques globally, and provides a unique capability accelerating the pathway to the first useful quantum computers. This foundational technology also applies to a new generation of quantum sensors, and enables Q-CTRL to shape and underpin every application of quantum technology.

Q-CTRL has assembled the worlds foremost team of expert quantum-control engineers, providing solutions to many of the most advanced quantum computing and sensing teams globally. Q-CTRL has been an inaugural member of the IBM Quantum Startup network since 2018, and recently announced a partnership with Transport for NSW, delivering its enterprise infrastructure software to transport data scientists exploring quantum computing. Q-CTRL is funded by SquarePeg Capital, Sierra Ventures, Sequoia Capital China, Data Collective, Horizons Ventures, Main Sequence Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Airbus Ventures, and Ridgeline Partners. The company has international headquarters in Sydney, Los Angeles, and Berlin.

About PSI

The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI is the largest research institute for natural and engineering sciences in Switzerland, conducting cutting-edge research in three main fields: matter and materials, energy and the environment and human health. PSI develops, builds and operates complex large research facilities such as the synchrotron Swiss Light Source (SLS), the free-electron X-ray laser SwissFEL and the SINQ neutron source. PSI employs 2100 people and is primarily financed by the Swiss Confederation. The institution provides access to its large research facilities via a User Service to researchers from universities, other research centers and industry.

Source: Q-CTRL

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Q-CTRL Partners with The Paul Scherrer Institute to Support the Scale-Up of Quantum Computers - HPCwire