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In the most recent episode of his YouTube series Science vs. Cinema, UC Santa Barbara physicist Andy Howell takes on Star Trek: Picard, exploring how the CBS offerings presentation of supernovae and quantum computing stack up against real world science.

For Howell, the series that reviews the scientific accuracy and portrayal of scientists in Hollywoods top sci-fi films is as much an excuse to dive into exciting scientific concepts and cutting edge research.

Science fiction writers are fond of grappling with deep philosophical questions, he said. I was really excited to see that UCSB researchers were thinking about some of the same things in a more grounded way.

For the Star Trek episode, Howell spoke with series creators Alex Kurtzman and Michael Chabon, as well as a number of cast members, including Patrick Stewart. Joining him to discuss quantum science and consciousness were John Martinis a quantum expert at UC Santa Barbara and chief scientist of the Google quantum computing hardware group and fellow UCSB Physics professor Matthew Fisher. Fishers group is studying whether quantum mechanics plays a role in the brain, a topic taken up in the new Star Trek series.

Howell also talked supernovae and viticulture with friend and colleague Brian Schmidt, vice- chancellor of the Australian National University. Schmidt won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for helping to discover that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.

"We started Science vs. Cinema to use movies as a jumping-off point to talk science Howell said. Star Trek Picard seemed like the perfect fit. Star Trek has a huge cultural impact and was even one of the things that made me want to study astronomy.

Previous episodes of Science vs. Cinema have separated fact from fiction in films such as Star Wars, The Current War, Ad Astra, Arrival and The Martian. The success of prior episodes enabled Howell to get early access to the show and interview the cast and crew.

"What most people think about scientific subjects probably isn't what they learned in a university class, but what they saw in a movie, Howell remarked. That makes movies an ideal springboard for introducing scientific concepts. And while I can only reach dozens of students at a time in a classroom, I can reach millions on TV or the internet.

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Science of Star Trek - The UCSB Current

The Pentagons Defense Innovation Unit is looking to the private sector to develop space-based quantum sensing prototypes within two years the kind of sensors that could contribute to a space-based quantum internet.

Highlights:

Quantum technologies will render all previously existing stealth, encryption, and communications technologies obsolete, so naturally the Pentagon wants to develop quantum technologies as a matter of national security.

The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has opened a solicitation to evaluate commercial solutions that utilize demonstrable quantum technology to achieve significant performance improvements for aerospace and other novel applications to include, but not limited to, inertial sensing, timing and gravimetry.

The DIU wants a prototype within 24 months that consists of acompact, high-performance quantum sensor for precision inertial measurement in deep space and other GPS-denied environments.

There are a lot of technical concepts that go into this technology, but for simplicitys sake, the DIU is looking for quantum sensing technology that can perform accurate measurements by overcoming the effects of gravity on time and space.

While the DIU did not go into any specifics about what the quantum sensing technology would actually be used for, we may gleam some ideas from what the military has already been researching specifically improved communications, precision navigation, and precision timing.

For example, the Air Force Research Laboratory has been investigating a variety of quantum-based sensors to create secure, jam-resistant alternatives to GPS, according to National Defense Magazine.

And because quantum sensors can detect radar signatures and beyond, they may be used by the military tobypass just about any stealth technology.

Other potential applications could include Earth defense mechanisms that could detect, prevent, or respond to missile attacks, asteroids, and comets, as well as keeping track of satellites and space debris that whiz around Earths orbit.

Additionally, a network of quantum technologies could offer the military security, sensing and timekeeping capabilities not possible with traditional networking approaches, according to the US Army Research Laboratory.

If we take the idea of quantum sensors a step further and into the realm of quantum sensing networks, then we are looking at one component of a quantum internet, when combined with quantum computing.

A quantum internet will be the platform of a quantum ecosystem, where computers, networks, and sensors exchange information in a fundamentally new manner where sensing, communication, and computing literally work together as one entity, Argonne Laboratory senior scientistDavid Awschalom told How Stuff Works.

The notion of a space-based quantum internet using satellite constellations is becoming even more enticing, as evidenced in the joint research paper, Spooky Action at a Global Distance Resource-Rate Analysis of a Space-Based Entanglement-Distribution Network for the Quantum Internet.

According to the scientists, Recent experimental breakthroughs in satellite quantum communications have opened up the possibility of creating a global quantum internet using satellite links, and, This approach appears to be particularly viable in the near term.

The paper seems to describe quantum technologies that are nearly identical to the ones the DIU is looking to build.

Aquantum internet would allow for the execution of other quantum-information-processing tasks, such as quantum teleportation, quantum clock synchronization, distributed quantum computation, and distributedquantum metrology and sensing, it reads.

SpaceX is already building a space-based internet through its Starlink program. Starlink looks to have 12,000 satellites orbiting the earth in a constellation that will beam high-speed internet to even the most remote parts of the planet.

The company led by Elon Musk has already launched some 360 satellites as part of the Starlink constellation.

All the news reports say that Starlink will provide either high-speed or broadband internet, and there are no mentions of SpaceX building a quantum internet, but the idea is an intriguing one.

SpaceX is already working with the Pentagon, the Air Force, NASA, and other government and defense entities.

In 2018, SpaceX won a $28.7 million fixed-price contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory for experiments in data connectivity involving ground sites, aircraft and space assets a project that could give a boost to the companys Starlink broadband satellite service, according to GeekWire.

Lets recap:

By the looks of it, the DIUs space-based quantum sensing prototypes could very well be components of a space-based quantum internet.

However, there has been no announcement from SpaceX saying that Starlink will be beaming down a quantum internet.

At any rate, well soon be looking at high-speed, broadband internet from above in the near future, quantum or otherwise.

Quantum computing: collaboration with the multiverse?

US Energy Dept lays foundation for quantum internet, funds $625M to establish quantum research centers over 5 years

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Pentagon wants commercial, space-based quantum sensors within 2 years - The Sociable

Microsoft has been working on quantum computers for several years now. Last year, Microsoft announced Azure Quantum, a full-stack, open cloud ecosystem that will bring the benefits of quantum computing organizations.Microsoft launched Quantum Network, a global community of individuals and organizations working together to advance quantum computing. The Microsoft Quantum Network members will work with Microsoft to learn about, research, and launch quantum computing applications and hardware supported with access to the Quantum Development Kit, vital research and experts, exclusive access to Azure services, and workshops on quantum programming and algorithm development.

Yesterday, Telegraph reported that Microsofts venture capital arm M12 invested in PsiQuantum, a startup with the goal to build the worlds first useful quantum computer out of conventional silicon chips that process information using individual photons as well as electronics. This means that every single component of the quantum computer is made by the same factories and assembled on the same production lines as your laptop or smartphone. PsiQuantum have assembled a team of more than 100 engineers with expertise across all aspects of silicon manufacturing and error corrected quantum computing.

Its worth noting that PsiQuantums approach is different from Microsofts efforts in topological qubits (Microsofts approach would enable error correction in hardware via topological protection from local noise). PsiQuantum and Microsoft have different sets of engineering challenges to address with their distinct approaches, but the companies share the vision for a scalable, fault tolerant quantum computer, said Samir Kumar from M12.

Source: PsiQuantum

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Microsoft invests in PsiQuantum, a startup which is building the worlds first useful quantum computer - MSPoweruser - MSPoweruser

Sometimes youd be the only person in the world with this new piece of knowledge. Its a pretty wild feeling

Professor David Reilly

Its been said that quantum computing will be like going from candlelight to electric light in the way it will transform how we live. Quite a picture, but what exactly is quantum computing?

For the answer to that question, well have to visit a scale of existence so small that the usual rules of physics are warped, stretched and broken, and there are few layperson terms to lean on. Strap yourself in.

Luckily, we have a world-leading researcher in quantum computing, Professor David Reilly, to guide us. Most modern technologies are largely based on electromagnetism and Newtonian mechanics, says Reilly in a meeting room at the Universitys Nano Hub. Quantum computing taps into an enormous new area of nano physics that we havent harnessed yet.

With his youthful looks and laid-back demeanour, Reilly isnt how you might picture a quantum physicist. He has five Fender guitars (with not much time to play them), and a weakness for single malt Scotches. That said, science has never been far below the surface. As a child, he would pull apart flashlights to see how they worked. During his PhD years, knowledge was more important than sleep; he often worked past 3am to finish experiments.

Sometimes youd be the only person in the world with this new piece of knowledge. Its a pretty wild feeling. A good place to start the quantum computing story is with the humble transistor, which is simply a switch that allows, blocks or varies the flow of electricity, or more correctly, electrons. Invented in 1947, it replaced the large, energy-hungry vacuum tubes in radios and amplifiers, also finding its way into computers.

This off/on gate effect of transistors is the origin of the zeroes and ones idea in traditional (aka classical) computers. Ever-shrinking transistors are also how computers have gone from room-filing monsters to tiny devices in our pockets currently, just one square millimetre of computer chip can hold 100 million transistors.

Incredible, yes, but also unsustainable. With transistors now operating at the size of atoms, they literally cant get much smaller, and theyre now at a scale where the different, nanoscale laws of physics are warping and compromising their usefulness. At that scale, an electron stops behaving like a ball being stopped by the transistor gate, Reilly says. Its more like a wave. It can actually tunnel through or teleport to the other side, so the on/off effect is lost.

Quantum computing seeks to solve this problem, but it also promises a great leap forward. Its based on the idea that transistors can be replaced by actual atomic particles where the zeros and ones arent predicated on the flow or non-flow of electrons, but on the property or energy state of the atomic particle itself.

These particles can come from various sources (and are usually engineered in nanoscale devices) but theyre called collectively, qubits. Now things get trickier. Yes, tricker. Where a transistor can be either one or zero, its a weird fact of quantum physics, that a qubit can be one or zero at the same time, like a spinning coin that holds the possibility of both heads and tails.

For a single qubit, this doubles the one-andzero mechanism. And for every qubit added, the one/zero combinations increase exponentially.

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Quantum computing at the nanoscale - News - The University of Sydney

Article By : Maurizio Di Paolo Emilio

Quantum computers will make security mechanisms vulnerable to new types of cyberattacks a problem for both chip cards and complex technological systems...

Quantum computers will make current security mechanisms vulnerable to new types of cyberattacks a real problem for both chip cards and complex technological systems such as networked vehicles or industrial control systems. They have the potential to break the cryptographic patterns widely used in internet of things data communication systems.

With the advent of quantum computers, modern encryption algorithms are undergoing an evolution that will significantly change their current use. In order to support the security of the internet and other cryptographic-based technologies, it is necessary to increase mathematical research to build the cryptography of tomorrow, which is resistant to quantum attacks and will become known as post-quantum or quantum-resistant cryptography.

A quantum computer that could break cryptography would be a powerful tool for attackers, said Dr. Thomas Poeppelmann, senior staff engineer, Infineon Technologies.

According to the latest Thales Data Threat Report, 72 percent of the security experts surveyed worldwide believe that quantum computing power will affect data security technologies within the next five years. Robust and future-proof security solutions are therefore necessary. The potential threats are widespread, everything from the cars of the future to industrial robots.

IoT security

The modern use of cryptography aims to help ensure the confidentiality, authenticity, and integrity of the multiple data traveling in the IoT ecosystem, both the consumer and industrial one.

Security requirements of IoT devices can be very complex, said Poeppelmann. As a result, security cannot be achieved by a single technology or method. For example, a vendor has to consider aspects like secured software development, protected patch management, supply chain security, protection against physical attacks, trust and identity management, and secured communication.

Many companies, such as Infineon, are developing chip-based quantum security mechanisms. In particular, the applicability and practical implementation of quantum security cryptographic methods for embedded systems will be highlighted.

An IoT device has to check that a software update is really from the vendor and that it was not created by an attacker, said Poeppelmann. If the cryptographic methods used in an IoT device can be broken by an attacker, this would expose it to a lot of vulnerabilities. With quantum-safe cryptography, we want to provide our customers with cryptographic methods that are even protected against attacks using quantum computers. With our post-quantum technology, we aim to provide security in the long term and against very powerful attackers.

A classic computer attacker can use all the necessary means, such as artificial intelligence and increasingly powerful computers, to defeat security barriers.

Depending on the results and tasks, an attacker may be willing to spend several months of work to break a cryptographic pattern. Developers must provide maximum security that is accessible and easy-to-integrate solutions.

The security industry is developing cryptography that can be executed on cost-efficient classical computers or even tiny smart card chips while being guarded against even the most powerful attackers, said Poeppelmann.

He added, This situation is also applicable to the development of post-quantum cryptography that should withstand quantum computing power. The defender could still be implementing cryptography on classical computers and machines, while the attacker may use a quantum computer in the near future. Current approaches for so-called quantum-key distribution [QKD], where quantum technology is used to achieve confidentiality, are currently too expensive or too constraining, whereas current assessments of post-quantum cryptography prove that it could be quantum-safe as well as affordable. This is why we at Infineon focus on the development of post-quantum cryptography [PQC].

Security for IoT(Image: Infineon Technologies)

Large-scale QKD technology has already been tested in several countries to provide secure quantum protection to critical infrastructures.

Today, cryptography is used in many applications in automobiles and industrial control equipment. This aims to prevent the transfer of malware that could disrupt security systems and seriously endanger independent driving and production equipment.

Conventional encryption tools such as elliptical curve encryption are indestructible for todays computers. However, with constant progress in the development of quantum computers, many encryption algorithms may become ineffective in the near future.

Projects

The project Aquorypt will investigate the applicability and practical implementation of quantum-safe cryptographic methods for embedded systems. The project team evaluates procedures that have an adequate security level and implements them efficiently in hardware and software. The results could be used to protect industrial control systems with a long service life.

In the Aquorypt research project, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) will collaborate with researchers and industrial partners to develop new protection measures for the quantum computing era.

The project will first assess several new protocols and check if the new protocols are suitable for the use cases; i.e. industrial control and chip cards, said Poeppelmann. The best way to build a secured system is always a combination of appropriate software and hardware methods. However, some security goals cannot be achieved if the underlying hardware is not secured. Some bugs cannot be fixed by software alone.

Another project, PQC4MED, is focused on embedded systems in medical products. The associated hardware and software must allow the exchange of cryptographic procedures to counteract external threats. The solution will be tested in a use case in the field of medical technology.

In health-care applications, data privacy and data security are of particular importance, said Poeppelmann. Moreover, these devices have been in the field for a very long time so that software needs to be updated to comply with the latest regulations. As a consequence, it is important to first understand how suppliers of health-care devices could handle the threats caused by attacks using quantum computers. And secondly, [it is important] to research how they can implement software updates and software management mechanisms that allow [protection of] a device over its life cycle of more than 20 years. If the security of the update mechanism is low, an attacker will always take the path of least resistance and attack this component.

Infineon is working in this field for the development and standardization of New Hope and SPHINCS+ quantum security cryptographic schemes. New Hope is a key exchange protocol based on the Ring-Learning-with-Errors (Ring-LWE, or RLWE) problem.

Ring-LWE has been designed to protect against cryptoanalysis of quantum computers and also to provide the basis for homomorphic encryption. A key advantage of RLWE-based cryptography is in the size of the public and private keys.

SPHINCS+ is a stateless hash-based signature scheme based on conservative security assumptions.

Googles quantum computer

Conclusion

Cyberattacks on industrial plants could lead to the theft of knowledge about production processes or to tampering plants with a loss of production efficiency. Over time, electronic systems will become increasingly more networked and information security will play a key role.

As for security, post-quantum cryptography now mainly needs standards and awareness, said Poeppelmann. The standards are required to grant interoperability of different systems; e.g., an IoT device communicating with a cloud system. Device manufacturers, on the other hand, should be aware that quantum computers can become a real threat to their solutions security. They should assess future risks as properly [as possible] and implement appropriate security as early as possible.

In addition to security, a second factor in determining whether a cryptographic algorithm can be used in a given application environment is its efficiency. The performance takes into account not only processing speed but also memory requirements: key size, data expansion speed, signature size, etc. For example, schemes based on more structured mathematical problems tend to have reduced keys.

Quantum technology such as quantum computers or quantum sensors have different requirements for market adoption, said Poeppelmann. For the adoption of quantum computers, we need a computer that is really able to prove a benefit for real-world tasks (e.g., chemical analysis, AI, etc.) over currently used cloud methods. In general, it is important to raise awareness to foster market adoption of quantum-resistant cryptography. The threat is real, but with PQC, we have a migration path available.

Improving the strength of encryption remains a goal for many IT security experts. As computers become smarter and faster and codes become easier to decode, a more advanced encryption mechanism is more urgently needed.

Related

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Securing IoT in the Quantum Age - Eetasia.com