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The future of computing as we know it is on the cusp of a monumental shift, thanks to a recent breakthrough in quantum computing technology. This advancement, brought about by a unique collaboration between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Harvard University, has the potential to accelerate the actualization of quantum computing by several years. The implications of this development are substantial, promising significant advancements in computing power and technological innovation.

The collaboration between DARPA and Harvard aims to address the fundamental challenges of scaling and error correction in quantum computing. These are crucial parameters for the practical implementation of this technology. A team led by Harvard and supported by DARPA has made significant strides in these areas. They have developed novel logical qubits that could enable the creation of scalable quantum computers.

In a first-of-its-kind achievement, the team created a quantum circuit with logical quantum bits (qubits), utilizing arrays of noisy physical Rydberg qubits. They developed techniques to create error-correcting logical qubits and built quantum circuits with around 48 Rydberg logical qubits in their laboratory. This advancement opens up the possibility of rapidly scaling the number of logical qubits.

Traditionally, it has been believed that millions of physical qubits are needed before a fault-tolerant quantum computer can be developed. However, this breakthrough has challenged this traditional view. By 2025, the QuEra team anticipates having between 10,000 to 100,000 physical qubits and 100 error-corrected qubits with very low error rates. This could potentially lead to commercially viable quantum error-corrected computer systems by 2028.

DARPA has selected Microsoft Corporation and PsiQuantum to advance to the next phase of the US2QC program. This program aims to ascertain whether an underexplored approach to quantum computing can achieve utility-scale operation. The goal is to develop and defend a system design for a fault-tolerant prototype, demonstrating that a utility-scale quantum computer can be constructed and operated as intended.

The breakthrough also underscores the urgent need for agencies and companies to transition from long-standing encryption protocols to Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) to resist rapidly advancing quantum computers. PQC is designed to address the threat posed by quantum computers to existing encryption. Implementing the new cryptography algorithms in actual code and ensuring it works is a critical step in this process. Agencies and companies are urged to take proactive steps to address the issue, rather than waiting for cybersecurity vendors to come up with a PQC implementation.

The impact of quantum computing on digital devices and the urgency for the migration to PQC cannot be overstated. This breakthrough, along with the initiatives by DARPA and its partners, is reshaping the future of computing and technology. We are on the brink of a new era, and the potential advancements it promises are truly exciting.

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Quantum Computing Breakthrough: DARPA and Harvard Collaboration - Medriva

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In this list well take a look at some of the major news developments in the quantum industry by category research, business, and national.

From all indications, investment in the quantum industry quieted in 2023, compared to the explosion of funding rounds in 2021/22. Most industries, besides artificial intelligence, experienced this trend during the year.

However, this relative quiet was interrupted with some major funding news, which well touch on below.

On the research and development end of the quantum industry, it was anything but quiet. Quantum scientists from both companies and research institutions as well as many industry-academic collaborations made unprecedented progress during the year.

Here are just a few of the stories that rocked quantum in 2023.

QuEra Computing, the leader in neutral-atom quantum computers, announced a significant breakthrough published in the scientific journal Nature. In experiments led by Harvard University in close collaboration with QuEra Computing, MIT, and NIST/UMD, researchers successfully executed large-scale algorithms on an error-corrected quantum computer with 48 logical qubits and hundreds of entangling logical operations. This advancement, a significant leap in quantum computing, sets the stage for developing truly scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computers that could solve practical classically intractable problems.

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Quantinuum scientists and engineers annoounce the controlled creation and manipulation of nonAbelian anyons.The control of nonAbelian anyons is considered a promising path to using topological qubits for a fault tolerant quantum computer.

The company scientists suggested that this advance provides a robust pathway towards scalable quantum computation.

Tony Uttley, then President and COO of Quantinuum, said of the achievment: With our secondgeneration system, we are entering a new phase of quantum computing. H2 highlights the opportunity to achieve valuable outcomes that are only possible with a quantum computer. The development of the H2 processor is also a critical step in moving towards universal fault tolerant quantum computing.

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Rice University physicists have shown that immutable topological states, which are highly sought for quantum computing, can be entangled with other, manipulable quantum states in some materials.

The surprising thing we found is that in a particular kind of crystal lattice, where electrons become stuck, the strongly coupled behavior of electrons in datomic orbitalsactually act like the f orbital systems of some heavy fermions, saidQimiao Si, co-author ofa study about the researchinScience Advances.

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The 1,000-qubit device has been set as a waymarker on the roadmap of many quantum computer makers. Atom Computing announced in October that it created a 1,225-site atomic array, populated with 1,180 qubits, in its next-generation quantum computing platform.

This is the first time the 1,000-qubit threshold for a universal gate-based system has been crossed, according to the company.

It marks an industry milestone toward fault-tolerant quantum computers capable of solving large-scale problems.

The company uses nuclear spin qubits formed from arrays of optically-trapped neutral atoms. Company officials said in the news release that the device officially would be released in 2024.

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IBM announced a series of updates that mark a pivotal shift in the technologys trajectory, adding that it brings quantum utility the point when quantum can be used to handle practical computational challenges closer.

The company unveiled two new quantum computers at IBM Quantum Summit that promise to be the biggest and most efficient ever built. The first, called Condor, has well over 1,000 quantum bits, or qubits and the second, Heron is billed as one of IBMs least error-prone devices. They also revealed major advances withexperiments in error mitigation on superconducting quantum processors.

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VTT Technical Research Centre of Finlandand the European leader in building quantum computers,IQM Quantum Computers,have completed Finlands second quantum computer. The new 20-qubit quantum computer further strengthens Finlands position among the countries investing into quantum computing. Finland completed its first quantum computer, a 5-qubit one, in 2021.

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NVIDIA is typically associated with gaming and artificial intelligence. This year, it became more focused than ever with quantum, joining partnerships with quantum companies, including, for example, SandboxAQ, which will use NVIDIAs quantum platforms to simulate quantum mechanics for chemistry, materials science and tensor network investigations. NVIDIA also announced new architecture in a collaboration with Quantum Machines,

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DistriQ, Quantum Innovation Zone, based in Sherbrooke, Quebec, is proud to announce the creation of the Quantum Studio and its partnership with Quantonation Ventures and ACET (Acclrateur de Cration dEntreprises Technologiques). The Quantum Studio is a startup studio and support structure specifically designed to enable quantum innovators to research, develop, and refine their projects with the aim of creating new and unique technology solutions for customers.

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Photonic Inc., a company building one of the worlds first scalable, fault-tolerant, and unified quantum computing and networking platforms based on photonically linked silicon spin qubits, announced it has raised an investment round of $100M USD. The funds were raised from organizations including British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), Microsoft Corporation, the UK governments National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), Inovia Capital, and Amadeus Capital Partners. This brings the companys total funding raised to date to $140M USD.

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PASQAL, a leader in neutral atoms quantum computing, announced it secured a 100 million equity Series B raise led by new investor Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore. Other new investors include the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Waed Ventures and Bpifrance, through its Large Venture Fund. Continuing investors include Quantonation, the Defense Innovation Fund, Daphni and Eni Next.

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OQC announced that SBI Investment, Japans premier venture capital fund, is leading OQCs $100m Series B raise. New investors in the round have been confirmed in addition to existing investors, Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC), Lansdowne Partners, and OTIF, acted by manager Oxford Investment Consultants (OIC).

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Q-CTRL, a global leader in developing useful quantum technologies through quantum control infrastructure software, announced the addition of Morpheus Ventures as a new investor in their record-setting Series B funding round, which has raised $54 million USD.

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Zapata Computing, Inc. (Zapata AI or the Company), the Industrial Generative AI software company developing solutions and applications to solve enterprises hardest problems, and Andretti Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: WNNR), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement that will result in Zapata AI becoming a U.S. publicly listed company. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol ZPTA.

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The UK government identified quantum technologies as a top priority for the next decade and explained this focus in its National Quantum Strategy released on March 14.

Released by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, the strategy calls out the significant potential benefits for the economy, society and the environment.

Quantum technologies leverage atomic-scale phenomena to manipulate information and solve complex problems that currently vex the most powerful classical computers. These technologies offer solutions to some of the greatest societal challenges and have the potential to transform healthcare, energy infrastructure, transportation, environmental monitoring, and national security.

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South Korea has unveiled a strategic plan to invest more than 3 trillion won ($2.33 billion) in quantum science and technology with the aim of establishing itself as a global leader in the field, according to the South Korean news site Pulse. The announcement came from Science and ICT Minister Lee Jong-ho during a conference on quantum technology and science.

Under the plan, South Korea intends to significantly increase the number of quantum researchers, aiming for a seven-fold rise to 2,500 by 2035. The news site reported that the strategy reflects discussions between President Yoon Suk Yeol and quantum scholars at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich earlier this year, making it the first national strategy to encompass a long-term vision for quantum science and technology.

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Year in Review: The Big Stories That Rocked Quantum Research And Quantum Business in 2023 - The Quantum Insider

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The threat posed by quantum computing is no longer a distant concern but an imminent reality. Experts believe so-called Q-Day, the point at which quantum computers will be able to break existing encryption algorithms, could be just a few years away.

The power of quantum computing offers huge social and economic benefits, as highlighted in the UK governments National Quantum Strategy, published in November 2023. However, the strategy emphasized that the technologys potential to undermine current cryptography used to secure internet data is a national security challenge that must be overcome to realise this potential.

It's fair to say that the threat is real, it could break the internet, Rob Clyde, Board Director at ISACA, told Infosecurity.

The implications of attackers being able to break current public key cryptography (PKC) algorithms, which provide secure sessions on browsers, secure transactions and digital signatures, are manifold, he explained.

It means you have the double threat of attackers being able to spy on data and inject signatures into the process, noted Clyde.

In addition, experts believe that threat actors are already leveraging quantum by undertaking harvest now, decrypt later attacks.

It is crucial that organizations are aware of the data security implications of advances in quantum computing and know how to mitigate this looming danger.

Governments and the tech industry are currently engaged in efforts to facilitate the migration towards post-quantum cryptography (PQC), aiming to have these encryption protocols rolled out widely before Q-Day strikes.

This will be a massive undertaking, given the scale and reliance on the internet.

The threat that quantum computers pose to current PKC standards is global and not something that any one organization can tackle on their own, commented Marc Manzano, General Manager of Quantum Security at SandboxAQ.

One of the most significant initiatives is the US National Institute of Standards and Technologys (NIST) publication of draft post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards in August 2023. The draft documents outline three Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and incorporate the four encryption algorithms NIST had previously selected to form its PQC standard.

The encryption algorithms selected include:

It is expected that the standards will become the global benchmark for quantum-resistant cybersecurity across the world in 2024.

Clyde said that once these draft standards become official open-source and proprietary software will begin implementing the algorithms rapidly.

He added that SSL certificates for websites will be quickly updated with the new algorithms.

The UKs National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidelines set out how organizations can migrate their systems to PQC based on the NIST standards.

Several industry-led entities focused on driving PQC awareness and adoption have also been created. This includes the PQC coalition, a body that aims to bring together industry, academia and governments.

Manzano explained: As of now [the coalition] has four dedicated workstreams focused on advancing standardization efforts, education, implementation and modernization of cryptography management, respectively.

NIST and other entities involved in this space have worked to homogenize security and interoperability with the new PQC algorithms and concepts. Nevertheless, Philip George, Executive Technical Strategist at Merlin Cyber,noted that even small-scale cryptographic transitions have proven to be complex undertakings to plan and execute.

The migration to PQC will be the largest cryptographic migration in the history of computing, so the potential for the loss of availability for affected systems remains high, he outlined.

Much of the migration will be completed automatically, for example in browsers. However, Clyde said that organizations implementing software must ensure they have a process for picking up the new algorithms as they come through.

The first step organizations should take is to educate themselves on the guidance offered by the entities involved in the development of quantum-secure cryptography. For example, George advised referencing the CISA/NSA Quantum-Readiness factsheet, which recommends organizations pull together key representatives across their risk management program to establish a quantum readiness project team.

Another crucial action that should be taken now is to build a cryptographic inventory. This requires identifying every instance of cryptographic assets within the IT infrastructure, whether embedded in applications, filesystems or elsewhere.

Manzano noted: This will enable compliance and governance teams to control what cryptography is being used while, at the same time, offer remediation alternatives for the identified vulnerabilities present in the systems.

George emphasized that this inventory of cryptographic dependencies should include organizations supply chains.

In addition, having an understanding of the cryptographic systems being used across an enterprises systems will help address the very live threat of harvest now, decrypt later attacks. Clyde noted that quantum computers will struggle to decrypt certain types of symmetric encryption algorithms currently available, particularly AES 256.

Theres no need to wait on this, look for reencryption programs that will quickly move you into quantum-resistant symmetric algorithms such as AES 256, advised Clyde.

Following the inventory and discovery process, organizations need to incorporate cryptographic agility into targeted assets and systems. Manzano noted that organizations that require high-speed, low-latency operations, such as financial institutions and telecommunications providers, may have concerns about the impact PQC algorithms will have on network performance, operations, cost and the user experience.

Being able to conduct accurate benchmarking can give these organizations deeper insights into which algorithms offer the best balance of performance and security, enabling them to make informed business decisions and solidify their corporate cryptographic policies, he said.

George added that taking these steps now will reduce the time and effort to shift from one cryptographic standard to another and introduce new standards seamlessly.

There will be a lot of announcements to come regarding quantum computing both in terms of the threat posed by this technology and the initiatives to protect against such dangers.

Clyde said it is vital all organizations keep a close eye on updates from tech firms involved in this space, such as IBM and Google. In particular, pay attention when they state they are close to building a quantum computer that can break existing encryption algorithms.

Pay attention to the makers of quantum computing so youre not caught off guard when a sudden breakthrough occurs, Clyde said.

He noted that this is what happened with AI, where many people were taken by surprise by the launch of OpenAIs ChatGPT generative AI tool in November 2022.

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How to Pave the Way for Quantum-Secure Encryption - Infosecurity Magazine

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The Emergence of Quantum Computing

Quantum computing is an emergent computational paradigm that uses quantum bits or qubits as the basic units of information. This unique approach allows for massive parallelism and complex computation through quantum effects and entanglement. Unlike traditional bits that can be either a 0 or a 1, qubits can be in a state of superposition, being both 0 and 1 simultaneously. This feature, along with entanglement, where qubits become interconnected and the state of one can instantly affect the state of another, is what enables quantum speedups.

A notable achievement in quantum computing is the demonstration of quantum supremacy, where a quantum computer performs a task faster than any classical computer. This supremacy has been achieved in experimental setups for specific problems, such as integer factorization using Shors landmark quantum algorithm. This has valuable real-world implications in areas like cryptography. Quantum simulation is another promising domain where quantum computing can have a significant advantage.

While quantum computing poses exciting possibilities, there are tangible challenges to overcome. Fragile qubit coherence times, the engineering scalability of qubit arrays, and operational errors are among the difficulties faced in the field. However, steady experimental progress and cutting-edge technological advancements, such as IBMs 433 qubit powerful Osprey processor, are paving the way towards more robust and efficient quantum processors.

As quantum computing evolves, the risk it poses to existing encryption systems becomes increasingly apparent. The computational prowess of quantum machines threatens to render current cryptographic defenses obsolete. However, initiatives are underway to develop quantum resistant cryptography and quantum key distribution to safeguard digital communications. Post quantum algorithms are also being developed, which are based on complex mathematical problems with no known solutions, ensuring long-term security in the quantum era.

Quantum computing also holds implications for blockchain technology. It has the potential to optimize blockchain by accelerating the mining process, execution of smart contracts, and enhancing security with post quantum algorithms. However, the transition to quantum safe solutions poses challenges in terms of development, implementation, and maintaining the scalability and efficiency of blockchain transactions.

Despite the challenges and threats, the potential of quantum computing is immense. It promises to solve problems currently deemed insurmountable by classical computing. Experts argue that the future of quantum computing lies in small, steady improvements rather than revolutionary leaps. Once integrated effectively, these improvements could lead to the construction of increasingly larger and more powerful quantum systems, revolutionizing numerous fields of study and transforming the world as we know it.

In conclusion, while quantum computing is surrounded by hype, its not just an illusion. Its a rapidly evolving field with significant challenges to overcome, but its potential to reshape our world is undeniable.

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The Emergence of Quantum Computing: Advancements, Challenges, and Future Prospects - Medriva

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