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In any encrypted communication system, having high entropy encryption keys is critical to achieve the maximum security. Many systems are broken because an attacker is able to guess the key if it has some inherent weakness and break into the system. Encryption keys based upon non-deterministic quantum mechanics can provide the best keys because quantum systems are probabilistic and it is impossible to predict exactly what a quantum system will do.

In December 2021, Quantinuum announced its Quantum Origin product which is a Quantum Random Number Generation (QRNG) service that provides fully random, non-deterministic numbers generated on its H-series of quantum processors. These random numbers could be used as cryptographic keys to provide additional security for an organizations versus other methods, such as software generated pseudo-random keys. The QRNG service is based upon Quantinuums cloud service so that whenever a user needs a new random number they would request it through the service and it would be sent to them.

Quantinuum has now taken the next step and developed a derivative product which they call Quantum Origin Onboard. In some applications, particularly embedded devices, it is inconvenient to always have to rely on a cloud service to provide you with your next random number whenever you want to create a new encryption key. So the difference is that rather generating a direct random number to use as an encryption key, Quantum Origin Onboard generates a random seed. This seed is then delivered only one-time to Quantinuum supplied software that would reside on the end users system and then it would be mixed with additional random information generated within the users system. This process eliminates the need to request a new key over the cloud each time a new random number is needed for generating an encryption key. The solution does not require any hardware changes and the software can easily be integrated with a Linux Kernel or an OpenSSL module.

Additional information on Quantum Origin Onboard is available in a press announcement here, a web page here, a one-page overview sheet here, and a solution guide here.

June 17, 2023

Read more:
Quantinuum Introduces Quantum Origin Onboard for Creating Quantum-Computing-Hardened Encryption Keys for Connected Devices - Quantum Computing Report