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It could be right out of Back to the Future but a device known as a quantum memristor has been invented to open up the possibility of building a brainlike supercomputer. Lets call it Orac, Blakes 7 fans.

Detailing the creation of the first prototype of such a device in the journal Nature Photonics, Experimental photonic quantum memristor | Nature Photonics, scientists say the breakthrough could help combine quantum computing with artificial intelligence and the development of quantum neuromorphic computers.

A memristor or memory resistor is describedas a kind of building block for electronic circuits that scientists predicted roughly 50 years ago but created for the first time only a little more than a decade ago.

These components are essentially electric switches that can remember whether they were toggled on or off after their power is turned off. As such, they resemble synapsesthe links between neurons in the human brainwhose electrical conductivity strengthens or weakens depending on how much electrical charge has passed through them in the past.

In theory, memristors can act like artificial neurons capable ofboth computing and storing data. As such, researchers have suggested thatneuromorphiccomputer would perform well at running neural networks, which are machine-learning systems that use synthetic versions of synapses and neurons to mimic the process of learning in the human brain.

Using computer simulations, the researchers suggest quantum memristors could lead to an exponential growth in performance in a machine-learning approach known asreservoir computingthat excels at learning quickly.

Potentially, quantum reservoir computing may have aquantum advantageover classical reservoir computing, says study lead author Michele Spagnolo, a doctoral student in quantum physics at the University of Vienna.

The advantage of using a quantum memristor in quantum machine learning is the fact that the memristor, unlike any other quantum component, has memory, he adds.

Among the more profound benefits that quantum computers could be used for is to simulate quantum physical processes for much faster drug and material design; to accelerate AI development and to provide new levels of security and information communication. But they could also be used to break public-key encryptions, to amplify current AI risks at a faster pace, or be misused in biotechnology to design bio-weapons or other risks.

We now live in a Wright brothers moment in the history of quantum computing,Ibrahim Almosallam, a consultant for the Saudi Information Technology Company, writes atWorld Economic Review. When a commercial jet version arrives, it will deliver a new leap in information technology similar to what classical computation delivered in the 20th century, and, just like with any general-purpose technology such as the internet, electricity, and, for that matter, fire alongside great benefits, comes great risks.

Then theres more prosaic stuff like a super-AI creating the latest Pixar feature. This is where quantum can turbo-charge machine learning, improving the ability of AI to derive useful information from photos and videos, according to a recent report in the Harvard Business Review Quantum Computing for Business Leaders (hbr.org).

However, building and scaling a stable quantum computer is not easy. Photons and electrons are delicate; their behaviour defies our ingrained view of how the physical world operates, saysHBR.

One of the most formidable obstacles to building functional quantum computers is that qubits dont stick around very long, the article elaborates. Vibration, temperature, and other environmental factors can cause them to lose their quantum-mechanical properties, resulting in errors. Today, the rate at which errors occur in qubits limits the duration of algorithms that can be run.

Scientists are working to build environments in which many physical qubits act together to create error-protected logical qubits, which can survive for much longer periods of time long enough to support commercially viable applications.

Still, the most advanced quantum computers today have 50 to 100 physical qubits; it will most likely need ten times that to make a single error-protected logical qubit.

It is the state of flux (known assuperpositions) in which photons exist which causes the inherent instability of quantum systems. Superposition means they can essentially be located in two or more places at once (or spin in two opposite directions at the same time).

The breakthrough quantum memristor in the new study, as outlined by IEEE Spectrum, is a technique that relies on a stream of photons existing in superpositions where each single photon can travel down two separate paths laser-written onto glass. One of the channels in this single-qubit integrated photonic circuit is used to measure the flow of these photons, and this data, through a complex electronic feedback scheme, controls the transmissions on the other path, resulting in the device behaving like a memristor.

In other words, while memristive behavior and quantum effects are not expected to coexist, the researchers appear to have overcame this apparent contradiction by engineering interactions within their device to be strong enough to enable memristivity but weak enough to preserve quantum behaviour.

Taking another leap into the theoretical, this could also have implications for our understanding of what it means to live in the multiverse.

Stay with me here. Yes, the multiverse is currently in vogue among storytellers as a means to spin more canon fodder out of tired IP franchises. Looking at you directly Marvel and your upcomingDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Even season 2 of Netflix comedy Russian Doll loops its protagonists back to 1982 and riffs on Back to the Future.

The multiverse as depicted in the movies, is a world full of endless potential; multiple parallel universes spinning in synchronicity; and the possibility of alternate, powerful, seemingly better versions of ourselves.

At Vox, a mathematical physicist at the California Institute of Technology, says this is possible in theory.

Spyridon Michalakis is no random boffin Im the science consultant forAnt-Manand I introduced the quantum realm [to Marvel], he explains.

Having established his credentials, Michalakis then explains that basically the multiverse is grounded in quantum mechanics.

Space and time are one single, singular construct, he explains in a 101 of Einsteins theory. Theres not like you have space and then time; itsspace X time.Moreover, quantum space time is a superposition: a quantum superposition of an infinite number of space times, all happening at the same time.

That word again: superposition.

This illusion basic physical reality is the fact that human beings have very specific points of view, ways of observing the superposition.

He makes this startling observation by mixing science with a cinematic metaphor.

The frame rate of the human mind is so low relative to the frame rate of the universe, he says. Lets say we only perceive 100 frames per second. We can be aware of our lives and choices we make, but then the frame rate of the universe (where you could be flicking between different timelines) is 40 orders of magnitude above that.

Were all trying to figure out the plot of the universe by just watching the beginning and the end of the movie, the first and last frame. Were just reconstructing the in-between the best we can. Thats where the multiverse hides; it hides there in between frames. Honestly, I think that the frame rate of the universe truly is infinite, not even finite, very, very large. And were so far away from that.

So that means were stuck in observing just one reality, not the multiplicity of them but we could if only we had a brain the size of a planet.

If only we could build one

Link:
Memristors: Quantum computing breakthrough could take us back to the multiverse - RedShark News

IQM Founders | Image credit: IQM

The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced on Friday that it has granted 35M to IQM Quantum Computers for the development and commercialisation of its quantum processors. The development follows IQMs announcement in November of the opening of its first fabrication facility in Espoo, Finland.

The funding is part of the European Guarantee Funds venture debt product introduced to provide liquidity to small and medium-sized companies affected by the pandemic.

Has the Dutch workforce mastered all digital skills? Find out

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is a long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute toward EU policy goals.

Speaking on the development, EIB Vice-President Thomas Ostros, says, As we consider quantum computing as a sector of strategic importance, we are glad to support the Finland-based company IQM. With our financing, we not only sustain and create jobs within a highly innovative industry, but we also place ourselves squarely behind technological know-how. Europe has a strong tradition of quantum research, and funding IQM ensures that the results of this research will be put into practice in real-world innovations.

Founded in 2018 by Jan Goetz, Juha Vartiainen, Kuan Yen Tan, and Mikko Mottonen, IQM builds scalable hardware for universal quantum computers, focusing on superconducting technology.

The company provides on-premises quantum computers for supercomputing data centres and research labs, and offers full access to its hardware. For industrial customers, IQM delivers a quantum advantage through an application-specific, co-design approach.

As a spinoff of Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, IQMs core technology builds upon decades of research from the world-renowned Quantum Computing and Devices (QCD) lab. This know-how is combined with the experience of renowned quantum computing experts from Bilbao, Munich, Zurich, Delft, and several other locations.

Additionally, IQM is building Finlands first commercial 54-qubit quantum computer with VTT, and an IQM-led consortium (Q-Exa) is building a quantum computer in Germany. The computer will be integrated into an HPC supercomputer to create an accelerator for future scientific research. IQM has over 160 employees with offices in Paris, Bilbao, Munich and Espoo.

EIB President Werner Hoyer says, Quantum computing is still at an early stage. However, it has the potential to revolutionise many sectors, from drug and vaccine development to cybersecurity. Given the scale of the potential impact, global competition in quantum computing is fierce. Ensuring that companies such as IQM are well-funded is key to positioning Europe as a technological leader worldwide.

IQM says that the initial tranche of the EIB funds will be used for expanding the facility, accelerating material research and developing quantum processors.

IQMs Chief Executive Jan Goetz says, Todays chips shortage has exposed just how dependent the world is on semiconductor manufacturers in Asia. Quantum processors give us an opportunity to learn from this and become self-reliant first, and a global provider for quantum chips in the future.

This EIB loan supports us in building more balanced and resilient quantum development in Europe. We are already working on the most advanced quantum technology in Europe and this loan will also help us create the next-generation European quantum ecosystem, adds Goetz.

Recently, IQM announced its open-source processor design software, KQCircuits, the Q-Exa project for quantum acceleration for HPC centres, and the opening of the quantum fabrication facility. With this funding, the company says it will have full control over quantum processor development and strengthen its European leadership.

Catch our interview with Paul Down, Head of Sales at Intigriti.

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Finland-based quantum computing company IQM receives 35M grant from EIB for its Quantum Fabrication Facility - Silicon Canals

When it comes to technology, revolutionary is a word that gets overused. But if theres one thing in the world of 21st century computing that will deserve being described as such, its a fully functional quantum computer. It's no exaggeration to suggest that quantum computers have the potential to change the world as we know it.

Quantum computers are coming sooner than you might expect, in fact there are already functional, if rudimentary systems that have been developed by giants including IBM, Microsoft and Google along with many others. And you can be sure that the governments of the world are working behind the scenes in a quantum arms race. What we see in public is likely not at the bleeding edge of quantum computing research and development.

The power of a quantum computer, versus that of a classical computeror QC vs PCis they're set to dramatically advance fields as diverse as climate science, biology, and machine learning. But there's another application, and it's a somewhat shady one: espionage.

The governments of the world see quantum computers as a tool to break encryption standards. A fully functioning and stable high qubit quantum machine has the potential to wreak havoc across the internet. Previously secure networks would be vulnerable and public confidence in financial systems could collapse.

Forget Y2K, think Y2Q.

Then there are cryptocurrencies. Quantum computers could pose an existential threat to crypto, but I'll get to that a bit later. First, a crash course in quantum computing.

The functions of a classical computer are based around the use of bits, or binary digits, represented by 1s or 0s. A quantum bit, or a qubit as it's known, can exist as a 1 or 0, or both at the same time.This makes a QC much more adept at seeking answers to problems with a large number of outcomes or possible combinations than a classical computer.

A qubit harnesses the properties of quantum superposition. Via quantum entanglement, a qubit can be linked to other qubits to exponentially increase processing power. In simple terms, a QC is excellent at leveraging probabilities, which means that the answers to complex operations are exponentially faster with more qubits. A QC with enough qubits is capable of certain computations that a classical computer can never realistically solve. In certain cases, a calculation that a quantum computer could complete in mere minutes may take billions of years, or more to solve on even the world's most powerful supercomputer today.

The point at which a quantum computer can outperform a classical computer is called quantum supremacy. Some researchers already claim it has occurred, but any such claim is very specific, and completely impractical in a real world sense. There are also significant challenges to overcome before quantum computing becomes a commercial reality. Qubits are tricky things, to put it mildly, and maintaining coherence and scaling them is an area of ongoing research.

It's likely that we're many years away from practical quantum computers, but with enough stable qubits, there are some genuinely world-changing possibilities within reach. For now, the one I'll focus on is the ability to crack encryption. That might be the number one reason for governments to develop quantum computers.

It goes without saying that there's a need for network security. Military networks, financial systems, critical infrastructure, communications. You name it, it all needs to be secure to maintain confidence in the system. Security is built upon encryption.

Much of the encryption underpinning internet security is based upon prime numbers. As far back as 1994, American mathematician Peter Shor developed what is known as Shor's algorithm. It is used to find the prime factors of an integer. Put simply, this algorithm can be used to break many public key cryptography schemes, including RSA, one of the most widely used, and oldest algorithms for encryption.

I don't mean to be a scaremonger here. A QC capable of breaking a large key RSA encryption is probably years away at best, but the theoretical vulnerability exists, and the time to protect the possibility of an attack against it is now.

The governments of the world are developing post-quantum encryption schemes. US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is undertaking a multi-year project with the aim of standardizing one or more quantum-resistant public-key cryptographic schemes. If successful, most of the world's networks should transition to security which will appear seamless to the wider public.

In the end, Y2K wasn't the catastrophe that many doomsayers predicted. Hopefully quantum computers vs public key encryption passes with as little impact as Y2K did.

The moral of the story is that it's important not to ignore the threat posed by a QC. If the NSA is taking steps to secure its networks, then others should take the threat seriously too.

Quantum computers present an existential threat to many cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is the logical example to use. Bitcoins core protocol relies on Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) to create a private key and a corresponding public key. A sufficiently powerful QC can derive the private key from the public key. This allows an attacker to access that particular wallet. ECDSA is not easy to crack, but the potential is there and ignoring it is fraught with danger given the notoriously slow pace of blockchain development combined with head-in-the-sand tribalism.

Bitcoins early wallets are particularly vulnerable due to their use of pay to public key (p2pk) addresses, including the Satoshi Nakamoto era wallets. QC sceptics will say that BTC developers can hard fork to a quantum resistant signature scheme, and thats certainly true, but those dormant wallets remain vulnerable. Some estimates put the number of lost bitcoins at up to 25% of the entire supply. That's a lot of BTC.

What if a million bitcoins suddenly appeared on the market? Confidence would plummet and the price of bitcoin would crash. A hundred billion dollars, give or take is a juicy target for a rogue state. North Korea could certainly use the money.

But BTC and other cryptos aren't just about wealth. Their decentralised nature is antithetical to the ideologies and financial sectors of many countries. A country like China might wish to destroy all confidence in crypto, in order to remain in control of its financial sector. Perhaps the US might covertly attack crypto in order to prevent its use by criminals. Russia might.. well, who knows what Russia might do.

Some cryptos have already adopted QC secure signature schemes. Others including Ethereum and Cardano have quantum signatures or protection on their roadmaps.

I want to note again, my aim here isn't to pronounce doom and gloom. Bitcoin and others will survive if they take steps to protect against QCs, it's just that time is definitely ticking along. Cryptocurrencies already face numerous adversaries day after day, and yet it survives.

But it's time to get past the FUD and take quantum computers seriously. Developers need to act now. It might be a year or 10, but If a black swan event occurs, itll be far too late to do anything about it. The later the threat gets taken seriously, the harder it will be to mitigate against it.

No. Don't stress. Most of the legwork is being done behind the scenes and your current passwords and data should remain unaffected as long as the corporate caretakers of it are competent.

You can do things like change your private keys to longer key lengths where possible, but it's pretty safe to say that an adversary with a quantum computer isn't going to be worried about accessing your personal router, banking, or Coinbase password. There's bigger fish in the sea to go after.

The main thing is to be aware of the possible threat. The more people that are aware, the more questions get asked and hopefully answered. With any luck, by the time a fully functional quantum computer sees the light of day, the world will continue just as it always has, while enjoying the benefits they will bring.

In the future, hopefully stories like this one will be long forgotten, much like those Y2K doom and gloom articles were. I want to move on to talk about how a quantum computer can help to solve the really big problems, like clean energy, cures or treatments for things like cancer or diabetes, developing next generation materials, climate simulation or managing an entire city full of self-driving cars. But we all know that the likes of China and the US are after strategic and national security objectives first. And with that in mind, the wider internet and cryptocurrency remains vulnerable.

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Something has to be done about the quantum computer security threat - PC Gamer

SSH Communications Security Oyj

SSH launches Tectia Quantum-Safe and Zero-Trust Editions for the Next Wave of Secure Application Communications

SSH announces two new editions of their flagship product Tectia SSH Client Server: Tectia Quantum Safe Edition and Tectia Zero Trust Edition. These new additions to the Tectia product family will ensure that SSHs secure remote access solutions stay agile, dynamic and robust enough to meet the challenges posed by quantum computing and cloudification.

Secure Shell (SSH) protocol enables online connections and file transfers between systems handling critical data. Tectia is the original commercial implementation of the SSH protocol, providing secure point-to-point remote access, file transfer and tunneling connections between and to applications.

Quantum computing presents challenge to encryption in the near future by threatening to render classic cryptography useless. Even now, transmissions are recorded and then decrypted when Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computers are available, making long-term secrets vulnerable as we speak. Tectia Quantum Safe Edition protects critical remote access, file transfers and tunneling connections against the quantum threat.

Tectia Zero Trust Edition introduces an efficient role-based access control (RBAC) upgrade to bring scalability to managing access to large server estates. By operating without permanent credentials like SSH keys or passwords, Tectia Zero Trust Edition eliminates the costly process of managing or rotating credentials while also greatly enhancing system security by removing a significant potential attack vector. Additionally, it increases transparency by centralizing system audit logs.

Quantum Safe and Zero Trust are the two cornerstones of our solution portfolio. I'm extremely proud that we have upgraded Tectia with technologies that will keep our customers safe long into the future while making their environments more dynamic," says SSH CEO, Dr. Teemu Tunkelo. Tectia has a very strong and loyal customer base, especially on the financial sector, Teemu continues. It is therefore not a surprise that our first Tectia Quantum and Tectia Zero Trust customers are banks, since these businesses want to stay ahead of the cybersecurity game.

Story continues

Tectia Quantum-Safe Edition will be available to customers during Q2/2022. Tectia Zero-Trust Edition is available to customers immediately.

For more information on Tectia Quantum Safe Edition, please visit: Tectia SSH Client/Server Quantum-Safe Edition

For more information on Tectia Zero Trust Edition, please visit: Tectia SSH Client/Server Zero Trust Edition

Learn more about Tectia: Tectia SSH Client/Server

About SSHSSH helps organizations safeguard their mission-critical digital assets at rest, in transit and in use. We have 5,000+ customers worldwide, including 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies, and major organizations in Finance, Government, Retail, and Industrial segments. We are committed to helping our customers secure their business in the age of hybrid cloud and distributed IT and OT solutions. Our Zero Trust solutions offer safe electronic communications, secure access to servers and between servers. Our teams in North America, Europe, Asia along with a global network of certified partners ensure customer success. The companys shares (SSH1V) are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. http://www.ssh.com.

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PRESS RELEASE: SSH launches Tectia Quantum-Safe and Zero-Trust Editions for the Next Wave of Secure Application Communications - Yahoo Finance

Quantum computers may one day break encryption. So might stochastic magnetic tunnel junction machines, also known as spintronics. But we don't need next-generation computing power to break encryption. Its successfully happening right here and now.

Why Does Encryption Fail?There are many factors that contribute to encryption weaknesses and create vulnerabilities ready for exploitation by cybercriminals or state-sponsored actors. Chief among them is poorly implemented cryptography in terms of both the crypto libraries themselves and the way they are used. Bugs such as Heartbleed or the recent implementation error of the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature (ECDS) algorithm in Java versions 15 and above, undermine all programs based on them. The incorrect use of a library, insufficient entropy, or use of weak ciphers is a daily occurrence that impacts specific applications, making bugs even harder to find. Other encryption failings include weak passwords and certificates taken from compromised machines. Combine these techniques with harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks, and encryption technology is no longer what it used to be.

Mathematics, the Cornerstone of Encryption Extremely difficult mathematics underlie our encryption. RSA, the gold standard for public key encryption, is based on the complexity of breaking down a large number into its constituent primes. The forward problem is easy and quick to solve: Take some primes and multiply. But the reverse problem is much harder: Given an integer, which primes were multiplied to make it? Attempts to solve the problem of prime factorization dates back centuries, with Euclid of Alexandria working on specific properties of prime numbers more than 2,000 years ago.

Although no solutions have been found that work on conventional binary computers, that does not mean none exist. After more than 2,000 years of work, most mathematicians agree a prime-factorization algorithm used by a classic computer wont be here anytime soon. Peter Shor proposed an algorithm that could do composite number decomposition in polynomial time on a quantum computer breaking RSA and Diffie-Hellman ciphers but a quantum computer of this kind has not been publicly demonstrated at sufficient scale. Yet.

To prepare for the day when Shors algorithm is in play, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has sponsored a post-quantum cryptography (PQC) competition. Now in its sixth year, the competition that began with 82 submissions is expected to announce its four finalists this year.

The remaining candidates are asymmetric-key algorithms (similar in concept to RSA) believed to be capable of withstanding the computational power of a stochastic algorithm that might run on a scalable quantum computer. The mathematical problems upon which these newer algorithms are based are much younger and have not been studied extensively.

In the field of complex mathematics centuries are common time frames. For example, Fermats last theorem took 358 years to be proven. By that logic, its no wonder we have already seen a previously unknown or unforeseen weakness revealed in Rainbow what had been the most peer-reviewed quantum-resistant algorithm now deemed unsuitable for use by NIST. Its only a matter of time, then, before new encryption standards are weakened or outright broken. This is why NIST is encouraging organizations to embrace crypto agility in their post-quantum preparedness planning.

What complicates this matter further is that we don't and won't know which methods are bearing fruit and which techniques are being used, and by whom, to break the encryption we rely on to secure our digital universe. For all we know, large-scale quantum computers are already in use. If you were a nation state or criminal mastermind and had the ability to factor large numbers into their primes, would you tell the world? This is the fundamental problem with modern encryption: We often dont know which, when, or how ciphers are compromised. However, we can say with certainty that encryption is being broken and will be broken.

Look to Wall Street and Diversify To harden IT environments and digital assets in the face of such uncertainty, we can look to Wall Street for strategic advice. To combat the uncertainties and risks associated with loans and stocks go bad, financial institutions embrace diversification. By diversifying investments across multiple asset classes, geographies, and industries, the risks of an entire portfolio imploding are minimized.

This approach can, and should, be applied by enterprise IT and SOC teams when it comes to encryption. Using and mixing/stacking multiple encryption techniques helps to keep data traveling securely even if a flaw is uncovered in one of the encryption layers. We wont always know which part of a crypto stack has been defeated and how, but it wont matter if the cryptography is sufficiently diversified.

As an industry, we need to support the simultaneous use of multiple approaches, anticipating that new crypto methods will come and go. We must mix asymmetric key technology with symmetric key technology, and transmit keys through out-of-band channels. Most importantly, we must develop agreed-on metrics and industrywide benchmarks to measure exactly how diversified our crypto strategy is.

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Take a Diversified Approach to Encryption - DARKReading