The article is a great introduction into the power of quantum computing, quantum algorithms, and the key problems that engineers and scientists are tackling in order to build larger scale quantum computers. Given just as much space though, is the flip side of quantum computers, namely their ability to break the cryptography which the digital infrastructure of our modern society relies on. Well worth a read.

Leading up to this, I enjoyed reading Yuval Noah Harari’s recent article Lessons from a year of Covid which looked back at the last year we have all been through with the pandemic. While there was a lot to be buoyed by including:

• For one of the first times in humanity’s existence we actually could move most of our work and life online and maintain most of our connections while in the midst of a pandemic. Not without its mental health challenges, it was still a far cry from yesteryear when house quarantine during something like the Black Plague meant you really hoped your physical library and family board games were well stocked because there would not be much else you would be doing for the next year.
• As well, we developed and are in the process of deploying a vaccine at a speed that has never been possible for humanity before.

But there was a single sobering thought that the article highlighted – the next pandemic might not be a physical one but rather a digital one; namely, an attack on our digital infrastructure. The internet held on this time. What I would have done without Netflix I shudder to think. But that is not a guarantee for the future as we are seeing more and more cyber attacks on our key critical infrastructure. Indeed, in just the last week hackers attacked a US petrol pipeline causing huge fuel shortages along the east coast of the US. By Tuesday, more than 7% of petrol stations in Virginia and 5% in North Carolina were out of fuel!

At KETS, we have made it our mission to protect humanity’s most valuable resource – information – from the threat of quantum computing. We have figured out how to miniaturise quantum-safe cryptographic hardware in a size, form-factor, and price-point that now makes it commercially viable and easily integrated in Telecommunications, Data Centre, and Defence & Space applications, to name just a few. We aim to produce our version of the digital quantum-safe communications vaccine.

But just like the real pandemic, we are not the only vaccine and the solution will come from a layered approach. Our friend’s at Fact Based Insight detailed a number of layered security approaches in their recent article Quantum safe cryptography – the big picture. The key to quantum-safe security in the future will come from using all the tools in our toolbox and making them easily swapped in and out. Crypto-agility is the name of the game. And it is key for industry, indeed all of us, to start experimenting with the technologies now. Our 21st century communications including the internet were not rolled out overnight. We cannot expect their quantum-safe upgrade to happen instantly either.

The time to prepare for a safe quantum computing future is now.

The post The time to prepare for a safe quantum computing future is now appeared first on KETS Quantum.

There is a lot of hype around quantum computing and quantum technologies, and I can only imagine the difficulties facing a CISO or CTO trying to cut through this. To help with this, I’ve had in my minds’ eye an apples-to-apples table comparing key quantum-safe information security technologies for a while.

Now I’m from a quantum security technologies company – so you might argue I’m biased, but I also used to be an academic – so I have a very hard time not being precise in what I say and write^[1]. Moreover, if you disagree with anything in this article – get in touch!

My goal is to establish clear information about quantum-safe technologies that industries and enterprises can use to make key decisions because it’s not just about looking ahead to what’s next but also what’s after that and then what’s after that. In addition, I also want you as individuals to have clear information about secure technologies for a post-quantum world to enable you to make informed decisions about the companies you use to store and transmit your personal data.

To start with, let’s establish definitions of a few key terms that can get butchered in the marketing:

• quantum-safe means cryptographic primitives and protocols that cannot efficiently be broken using either a conventional or a quantum computer;
• a post-quantum world means a world in which quantum computers exist;
• post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms mean (in terms of the NIST competition) quantum resistant public-key cryptographic primitives of digital signatures and key encapsulation mechanisms^[2];
• quantum key distribution (QKD) means a secure symmetric key distribution protocol which uses quantum systems (qubits) to distribute the key;

There has been a heated debate raging for years in academics of who “solves” cryptography, it has been a complete waste of time. The answer is clearly both. They are both key tools (along with many others) in our crypto toolbox to build next generation quantum-safe applications. Each has different trade-offs, and we’ll deploy the best ones for the job because there really is a lot of nuance that is use-case and application specific.

The arrival of quantum computing has raised the awareness of how costly it is to upgrade our cryptosystems and how prohibitively costly it is to retrofit them. Cryptographic agility is a must in the future. Hopefully the above has been helpful to dispel some of the hype around quantum security technologies so that you can start to make key decisions about your own quantum-safe roadmap.

But remember it’s not just your next immediate step you should consider, soon securing our classical data in quantum-safe ways will be a given and you’ll need to start thinking about when you’ll be sending encrypted quantum information (qubits) into the cloud or when you’ll be playing with early incarnations of the quantum internet. If you want to not only make your company quantum-safe in a post-quantum world, but also want to set your company up to capitalise on the coming quantum revolution, now is the time to get involved testing all of the new quantum-safe tools.

The timing is perfect with a number of quantum-safe testbeds that seek to include all of these new quantum-safe tools in the toolbox including our Canada-UK Quantum Technologies project building quantum-safe testbeds in the UK and Canada, our ViSatQT and AQRNG projects focused on satellite-QKD and the assurance of quantum random number generators, the ParisQCI project where we are a key quantum security technology partner helping to build a quantum-safe core backbone network in Paris, or the wider EuroQCI project building a secure quantum communication network across the EU. Get in touch if you want to find out the latest about these and other projects and how our technology can help future-proof your cybersecurity.

And like I said from the outset, we’re interested to hear your thoughts, if you want to challenge any of the claims in the table, please get in touch. We will continue to update the  so that you always have a comprehensive source of clear information to come back to about quantum-safe technologies.

[1] The temptation for many footnotes in this article was almost overwhelming!

[2] Since most symmetric cryptographic primitives (e.g. AES) are thought to be relatively easy to modify in a way that makes them quantum-resistant, efforts have focused on the public-key cryptography primitives named.

The post Cutting through the hype – Post-Quantum Cryptography vs Quantum Key Distribution appeared first on KETS Quantum.

Our contract-winning submission focuses on Delivering a system Hardened, Scalable, and Interoperable QKD solution (DHSI-QKD).

This project delivers a next generation QKD solution designed for telecommunications production environments. This system addresses additional near-term market demands not met by current offerings; namely, high levels of security, robustness, and networking flexibility – all whilst being delivered at speed and at scale.

The post KETS Quantum Security pleased to announce we have won a £1.7m contract funded by Innovate UK to accelerate development appeared first on KETS Quantum.

The post Chris Erven, KETS Quantum Security: “each country has various specialties, we should leverage this” appeared first on KETS Quantum.

The world of information security should be taking notice as current public key cryptography is in danger. Efficient quantum algorithms are known to crack the underlying problems behind RSA and elliptic curve, and, as highlighted in the Times this past week, this problem is becoming more mainstream than ever before. In a surprising move a little over a year ago, the US NSA declared that the algorithms it had insisted were the best way to lock up secret data just weren’t safe anymore; no longer recommending a change to elliptic curve, but instead, preparation for quantum resistant algorithms.

KETS CTO, Philip Sibson commented: “Post-Quantum algorithms are analogous to modern public key crypto, but instead of finding mathematical problems that are not only hard for a classical computer to solve, they must also be inefficient for a quantum computers as well. This approach will certainly be adopted for many security applications, but with quantum computers in their infancy and much still to be understood about their computational power, these techniques suffer from greater uncertainty about their claims of security, with many proposed solutions being retracted after efficient algorithms are found to crack them (e.g. GCHQ’s Soliloquy public-key cryptosystem).

Quantum resistant security, doesn’t just have to be software, and can benefit from our hardware based technologies. Quantum random numbers can strengthen algorithmic security, providing a solid foundation from truly random and unpredictable numbers and quantum key distribution (QKD) can share the most secure symmetric digital keys for security protocols like encryption. We are using the properties of quantum mechanics to fight the threats that quantum technologies pose.”

This step towards improved levels of security is crucial in the coming years. Quantum computers are coming, and purport to break our current encryption with ease. Critical infrastructure, industrial IoT, and network security are under greater and greater stress to provide robust and reliable services.

Contact us today ([email protected]) to find out more about our technology and the solutions we can provide to counter the quantum computers of the near future.

The post What does quantum computing mean for the world’s best security systems? appeared first on KETS Quantum.

Our advances in information technology have transformed our world and what’s possible. Forget those futuristic “videophones” that Jack Bauer made look so cool talking to his CTU colleagues in episodes of 24, I can now Skype with my parents in full HD video on my smartphone sitting at the beach. Forget the video gaming LAN parties of my youth, kids can now play multiplayer video games with almost anyone around the globe. And forget waiting in line at the bank and writing cheques, I can easily make payments, check balances, shop, and invest all online with a couple of clicks.

But that all sounds great, what’s the problem? It’s simple, the security of our new information technology has not kept pace.

We’re not as secure as we think.

Individual hacking attacks are so numerous, from the Sony hack of 2011 to the Talk Talk and Ashley Madison hacks of 2015, that we’ve almost become desensitised to them. And while those certainly weren’t good, it’s the new generation of hacking that should have us really worried. In 2015, security engineer “white hat” hackers sitting comfortably in their living room, remotely shutdown a Jeep Cherokee with a Wired journalist sitting in the driver’s seat, while he was driving along at 60 mph on a St. Louis highway! In 2016, during the middle of winter, a cyber attack took out 1/5^th of Kiev’s power grid. What’s worse… this wasn’t the first time it happened! More recently, researchers have discovered a systematic series of attacks against power plants, refineries, and other critical infrastructure. Here hackers have been targeting safety systems setup to prevent health and life-threatening accidents! Recently, these same hackers have escalated their activities and begun probing US power grids. With all of this, it’s no wonder the US recently declared a national emergency over IT threats and expressed concerns over potential state actor backed hacking.

New capabilities, new threats.

Hackers are currently selling a variety of hacking and malware tools on the dark web starting from the bargain basement price of $1. This is big business, with some hackers raking in $80,000 a month or more causing more than 1 billion people to have their data compromised in 2018 alone. And while this should already disturb you, it’s the rise of state sponsored hacking with new tools that’s the real problem. For example, researchers are now applying new techniques like machine learning to the cryptanalysis of random number generators, both classical and quantum, exploiting patterns that many of the traditional suite of tests can miss. But the real kicker is something called quantum computing.

Quantum computing is the next advancement in computing, where quantum systems are now used to represent information not in bits anymore but now in quantum bits – qubits for short. These quantum systems operate according to the laws of quantum mechanics. Typically very small scale systems or particles, good examples are single photons, the spins of electrons or artificial atoms, or trapped ions – all of which people are trying to build quantum computers with. The advantage of using qubits that operate according to new quantum computing rules is they can be used to process information in new ways, potentially much more efficiently.

This new computing paradigm promises great advancements, such as quantum simulations that could allow the efficient design of new molecules, fertilisers, and cancer drugs. Quantum computing also happens to be tailor made to solve many of the mathematical problems which currently underpin the security of our current, convenient cryptographic algorithms. The RSA algorithm and elliptic curve cryptography both depend on the difficulty of a particular mathematical problem, called the hidden subgroup problem, for their security. But in 1994, Dr. Peter Shor, in what’s now famously known as Shor’s algorithm, showed an algorithm that could be run on a quantum computer that could efficiently solve exactly this problem! Thus, while the development of a quantum computer will have all sorts of positive effects it will also radically speed-up the cracking of our current encryption codes.

Quantum computing is closer than we think.

Quantum computers might seem futurist and far enough away that we don’t have to worry, but that would be a mistake. A little thought shows just how dangerous this is and that we should be starting to worry a lot sooner – indeed, D day might already have passed!

A nifty little equation, termed Mosca’s equation, sums up nicely when we need to worry about upgrading our cyber security. It’s given by

x + y > z

where x = the security lifetime of our data (i.e. how long we want it to be secure), y = the upgrade time (i.e. the time needed to transition our information technology security systems to quantum-safe ones), and z = the time to build a quantum computer (i.e. the time at which our current security systems will become insecure). In a nutshell? If it’s going to take 10 years to upgrade our security systems and you want your medical records to be secure for 10 years at least, meanwhile there’s a reasonable chance a quantum computer is going to be built in the next 15 years, then you’re already out of luck. Since there’ll be 5 years while your sensitive data is effectively unencrypted and in the clear. See here for a whimsical article explaining this “store now, crack later” attack using the recent Avengers Endgame movie.

While most of the quantum computers we’ve build so far have been small prototypes, quantum computing is what’s known as an exponential technology; that is, progress isn’t linear. The human genome project was another great example of an exponential technology. It was a multi-billion dollar project which spanned 13 years. Famously, it had very little to show for itself more than half-way through the project. It certainly didn’t have half the human genome mapped. But all of a sudden the investments and work started to pay off. The technologies in development started to produce results that snowballed one on top of the other, which fed back to produce faster and faster development. And in a few short years, the human genome project completed with a resounding success. What’s more the cost has also dropped astronomically, from hundreds of millions of dollars at the turn of the century to now less than $1,000 in 2019.

For quantum computing, we’re now starting to see the same behaviour after many years of seemingly small-scale development in university labs. We’re starting to see the exponential “kink” in the graph. Where 2, 4, and then 8 qubits was the record for a very long time, in the matter of a few short years we’ve seen 19 qubits (Rigetti, 2018), 49 qubits (Intel, 2018), 50 qubits (IBM, 2017), and 72 qubits (Google, 2018) now demonstrated. Even better, quantum computers are starting to actually be useful in commercial applications, such as BT using a DWave machine to optimise it’s network planning and Accenture partnering with 1Qbit and Biogen to develop a quantum-enabled molecular comparison application. And it’s this last point that will really see the technology take off, once businesses start to see a commercial gain from using the technology, investment and development will simply re-enforce one another and take off.

Don’t believe me? Try plotting the trajectory of commercial system development in terms of number of qubits. Far from the shallow trajectory traced by academic systems, you’ll see that commercial quantum computers (albeit in the very early days with a few data points) are very nearly following their own Moore’s law (see upcoming KETS’ Threat Assessment). The potential is so strong that some experts think there’s a 1 in 6 chance that by 2026 a quantum computer will be built that is able to break RSA-2048.

Why we should be worried?

So just how worried should we be? Very, as several recent analyses show. Researchers are working the problem from both ends. As we’ve just seen, the development of quantum computers is speeding up exponentially. Similarly, researchers are making great strides in optimising the algorithms. Initial estimates in 2015 of how many qubits it would take to factor a 2048 bit number on a quantum computer were about 1 billion. But only a few short years later, researchers have brought it down to about 20 million qubits to factor a 2048 bit number in about 8 hours. Factoring is roughly equivalent to the hidden subgroup problem and is used by the RSA algorithm for its security. Currently, industry is still typically using key sizes of 1024 bits, though many are now starting to switch to 2048 bit keys based on NIST’s recommendations.

Recent work by Prof. Michele Mosca (whose equation we met above), a computer scientist, quantum information specialist, and Deputy Director of the Institute for Quantum Computing and collaborator Dr. Vlad Gheorghiu also analysed the time and resources needed for quantum cryptanalysis of some of our current cryptographic schemes. What they found was that with some very modest assumptions about quantum computing hardware, RSA-3072 and the NISTS-256 elliptic curve algorithm (roughly the equivalent to RSA-3072) should be crackable by 2042 within less than 1 day. And if one allowed the quantum computer to work for a year – a modest amount of time for determined state actors trying to access high value data – even larger key sizes of RSA-4096, RSA-7680, and NISTS-521 are well within reach

Now put that into the context of how long you’d like to keep your data safe for. Starting with the Top Secret information of governments. The US and UK expect classified information to remain secure for a minimum of 25 years. Thus, information sent now is expected to stay out of the public domain until at least 2044. But if the analyses above are correct, then we are already too late then in securing today’s most confidential information!

IP and commercially sensitive data (such as oil deposits, drug trial data, merger plans, and trade secrets) are expected to be protected for 5-20 years. Satellite systems, which are receiving a lot of attention at the moment as the commercial space race takes off, take 4-5 years to build and launch and are then expected to have a service lifetime of roughly 15 years. Third-party information (such as bank details, transaction data, and credit cards) is expected to be secure for 7 years or longer. And now, thanks to GDPR, disclosure carries severe consequences – with potential fines of up to 4% of a firm’s annual turnover or €20m. While some of these might still have a short security window, it’s clear that the time is coming rapidly where we can’t meet these requirements with our current solutions.

The future promises big advancements… with huge accompanying risks if we’re not careful.

So far we’ve just been talking about current technology, but the future promises advancements that will transform our lives, society, and life as we know it. Imagine when we can finally put our medical records fully online, so that if I’m in an accident on vacation and need medical care the doctors can have up-to-date access to my medical records and allergies before they treat me. Or soon we might each be mapping our own personal genome in the hopes that it can help cure a future cancer.

Major banks are moving the data and services for their entire organisation into the cloud, while new distributed ledger technology (aka Blockchain) is rapidly changing their verification services and sometimes removing the need for them completely. Similarly, some functions typically run by governments are now being stored as transactions on a public ledger that lives in cyber space for anyone to inspect. Edge computing – putting data and processing much closer to the user or application at the edge of the network – is getting us better Netflix binging and the potential for completely new services. My next car might no longer come with a steering wheel as standard. And we’re stepping into our AR and VR future, which lets us fend off a shark while cage diving or walk on Mars with friends in our living room on a Friday night.

These are fantastic advances, but my medical records and certainly my genome are… well me! How secure is my bank account living in the cloud? Bitcoin, despite its increasingly widespread adoption, is built on cryptographic primitives whose security is rapidly being undermined. Edge computing is just that, a lot of precious data sat on the edge of a network outside the traditional secure boundaries of an organisation. What happens when the first autonomous car gets sick with a virus? And how do you police a virtual environment?

Your next Xbox or PlayStation gamer tag might require more vetting then your driver’s licence.

I absolutely want my medical records to be secure. The tiny size of my bank account, currently its best protection, won’t stand up much longer when attacks can be efficiently launched at scale. All that great blockchain technology, is based on fundamentally vulnerable cryptography. Data is the new gold and absolutely must be protected out in the wild. Future cars should not only get me from A to B safely, but they should not be able to be used remotely as weapons in future terrorist attacks. And the realism that AR/VR is reaching, its biggest strength, absolutely shouldn’t allow a sexual assault to be possible from anywhere on the planet on Xbox’s and PlayStation’s networks.

Next generation solutions.

Despite what some will tell you, the solutions to all of these new problems are complex…. because our information technology is complex. And while it will likely be the large companies and organisations that feel the pain first, we as individuals won’t be far behind. We already have huge problems in front of us with how social media systems such as Facebook and Instagram should evolve in a world where state actors are using them to influence elections.

Security, long an afterthought and an annoying cost, now needs to come to the fore and be embedded in every piece of new technology as one of the first thoughts, not the last. And no one technology holds the answer, just like today, complete solutions will be made up of many different pieces: new trust structures and algorithms, hardware and software, classical and quantum. At KETS, we’re developing some of these new tools, quantum encryption tools, to build the solutions of the future.

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The 2016 NCSC Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) Whitepaper succinctly summarised a number of key issues previously identified in the quantum research community which require addressing before the technology becomes widespread and delivers on its full promise. Crucially, KETS’ solutions are specifically designed to address the most important of these issues.

KETS’s approach removes several practical limitations of quantum encryption technology. KETS’ first devices are capable of multi-protocol operation. This already enables a certain amount of remote patching – if a vulnerability is found in the implementation of one protocol the device can switch to another one. Further redundancy will be built into future devices, removing the automatic need to recall equipment to the vendor. This is facilitated by the integrated platform where the increase in footprint for redundant optical circuits on-chip is negligible as compared to fibre optic and bulk implementations.

KETS’ integrated chip technology greatly increases the feasibility and affordability of large multi-device, multi-path network topologies. Banks of integrated QKD transceivers, each with their own optical channel and potential routing, can be incorporated into a single system. This removes the limitations of the original QKD protocols which were initially point-to-point algorithms. We enable a very flexible, optical network architecture capable of many different network topologies and routing paths which can crucially be reconfigured when an attack is detected. This ability to switch to a safe alternative route leverages the same approach contemporary technologies use to thwart denial-of-service attacks. KETS Founders are some of the original pioneers of these concepts in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) setting. Finally, our multi-protocol operation also allows our devices to be reconfigured in real-time for optimal network operation as different operating conditions are detected.

KETS takes a modern, systems level approach to designing new cryptosystems. Modern cryptosystems go far beyond basic public key/asymmetric cryptography algorithms to include functions in secure identification, data integrity, trust, and certificate authorities. KETS knows that full solutions are complex and will utilise the most appropriate tools for each task, including quantum encryption, post-quantum cryptography algorithms, and future certificate authorities. Additionally, solutions might utilise designs such as trusted nodes to extend distances and provide lawful interception where required. Security must always be designed for at a systems level, whether quantum or classical, to make sure no vulnerabilities are inadvertently opened.

KETS’ world-leading integrated quantum photonics approach drives down costs, facilitates scalability, and enables many new applications. Previous bulk and fibre optic implementations were not only expensive, big, and power hungry, but their form-factor prevented a large number of critical applications from being addressed (e.g. satellites and aerospace platforms, easy incorporation into larger systems, and deployment into nuclear power station sensor networks). KETS’ system is uniquely built on an integrated quantum photonics platform enabling low-SWaP (size, weight, and power) applications today and eventual integration at the chip level tomorrow. KETS aims to reduce the cost of its quantum encryption solutions by orders of magnitude.

KETS places a premium on the security assurance of its devices. Any real-world QKD system will be built from several different components. We are working closely with NPL through the ISCF AQuaSeC and upcoming AQRNGs grants on the certification of our devices and sub-systems to guarantee their proper operation, as well as to accurately assess, quantify, and validate the security of our devices. We are also supporting cutting-edge chip-based quantum hacking work at the University of Bristol with some of the world’s leading “Quantum Hackers”. Quantum encryption is no different than any other encryption technology and our devices will be subjected to rigorous analysis and penetration testing before release. Just as with classical cryptography algorithms such as SHA-1 and GCHQ’s recently rescinded post-quantum cryptography algorithm Soliloquy; if any weaknesses are discovered in KETS’ devices, they will quickly be patched. Finally, KETS is engaging with ETSI’s and ITU-T’s critical quantum encryption standardisation push through our partnership on the Quantum Communications Hub.

KETS recognises the key requirement of crypto-agility as we secure our information systems from quantum computers. Launched in 2015, new NIST post-quantum standards are expected in 2022-23. As vendors prepare for a very costly migration to new crypto standards now is the time to consider all quantum-safe alternatives including quantum encryption technologies. Many of the post-quantum cryptography algorithms have drawbacks including massive memory and processing requirements as well as limitations on speed, not to mention that their security promise is the conjecture that to the best of our knowledge, this algorithm is not susceptible to an attack by a quantum computer or other device. Crypto-agility, the ability of an information system to switch to alternative cryptographic primitives and algorithms without making significant changes to the system’s infrastructure, is now the name of the game to ensure we have the most robust and update-to-date cryptographic protection. Moreover, we need to ensure the new technologies we migrate to are backwards compatible. KETS is committed to designing our systems to allow the highest degree of crypto-agility as they are incorporated into secure systems.

Applications need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Limited range is cited as a concern; however, many mission critical data back-up and cloud storage applications are routinely performed to sites within 40 miles of each other while distances in smart-city applications are reachable with quantum encryption technologies. Further, we can optimise our solutions when specific operating conditions are identified. Integrating quantum security with the internet-of-things (IoT) is seen as another challenging area. However, the security of cheap IoT devices would benefit from an affordable, integrated QRNG partnered with post-quantum algorithms. While industrial IoT devices which have a higher value, complexity, and risk, could benefit from a full quantum solution. For securing the control plane of the UK’s next generation telecommunications network, full QKD coupled with a strong key management system could be crucial to maintaining its security. And efficiently distributing secure quantum keys globally with satellites will only be possible with a chip-based approach. Finally, new applications – such as mapping your genome for your future health – will require radically new security guarantees and business models.

In summary, we believe that quantum technologies have a key role to play in addressing the future of information security. The key is to take a systems approach, applying the right hardware, software, and operational security at each point. KETS’ low cost, robust, scalable technology will enable the use of quantum technology in practical next generation solutions.

The post KETS’ response to the NCSC Quantum Key Distribution Whitepaper appeared first on KETS Quantum.

Bristol based, KETS Quantum Security and Paris based, Cryptonext Security today announced that they would be working together to develop complete quantum-safe solutions, bringing together KETS’ integrated photonic hardware devices and Cryptonext’s quantum-resistant cryptography solutions. The commitment will allow the partners to build fully-integrated quantum-safe security solutions, designed to fight the potentially catastrophic security threat brought by quantum computing.

Ludovic Perret, CEO of CryptoNext Security said, “Deploying CryptoNext’s software library over KETS’ hardware chipsets is a great opportunity to exploit the best quality randomness, avoiding widespread attacks ruining the security of many root-of-trust technologies based on classical entropy sources.”

New security solutions will have to combine quantum cryptography hardware and quantum-resistant software solutions. By working together on this joint vision for the future, the partnership will combine the benefits of each into fuller, holistic solutions that are simpler for end users to deploy.

KETS’ CEO, Chris Erven added, “Real cyber security problems are complex, combining software and hardware enables full solutions. A partnership with CryptoNext will ensure our customers always have the best tool for the job.”

The combination is already attracting interest from industry. Both companies were selected as one of 8 companies in Thales’ Cyber@StationF accelerator. “Sharing advanced research expertise in areas such as physical sciences or cybersecurity unveils the potential to achieve the performance of our products, especially with the upcoming quantum revolution — and that is how we will be able to build better and safer technologies. We are very proud of this partnership between KETS and CryptoNext, as this cooperation arose from common research grounds at Station F, it really shows that the ecosystem is expanding successfully to face tomorrow’s challenges.” said Thales Group CTO, Marko Erman.

KETS and CryptoNext Security are portfolio companies of the Venture Capital fund Quantonation and work closely with the team based in Paris. Quantonation General Partner Christophe Jurczak added, “helping this partnership take place is an example of the value that a focused investor such as Quantonation is bringing, beyond finance. Both teams are extremely talented, and committed to deliver industry grade solutions.”

Quantum computers are a cyber security time bomb. Data can be already stored and will be decrypted once a powerful-enough quantum computer is available. The recent announcement of Google on quantum supremacy is yet another major milestone towards building such large quantum computers. The trend is clear and organizations must start now to protect their infrastructure against the quantum threat.

Left to Right: Jake Kennard (Technical Sales Director, KETS), Jean Charles Faugere, (CTO, CrypoNext), Ludovic Perret (CEO, CryptoNext) and Frédéric de Portzamparc (COO, CryptoNext)

About Cryptonext

Based on 20 years of academic research, CryptoNext Security provides quantum-resistant cryptographic software technologies to help all companies protect right now their products and themselves against the quantum threat. Field-proven since 2016 over smartphones, CryptoNext Security’s library is now available for security chipsets, common computers, and servers, delivering classical and quantum resistance with optimized performances. For more information and news visit www.cryptonext-security.com

About Quantonation

Quantonation is the first early stage VC fund dedicated to Quantum Technologies and Deep Physics. Fields such as materials design, high performance computation, cybersecurity, or ultra-precise sensing are now driven by innovation based on these disruptive technologies. Quantonation aims at supporting their transition into commercially available products for the industry. Quantonation is headquartered in Paris, France with investments all over the world. For more information and news visit www.quantonation.com

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The Creative Destruction Lab is a seed-stage program for massively scalable, science and technology-based companies. The program employs an objectives-based mentoring process with the goal of maximizing equity-value creation. The Quantum Stream at CDL-Toronto brings together entrepreneurs, investors, AI experts, leading quantum information researchers, and quantum hardware companies (D-Wave Systems, Rigetti Computing, and Xanadu).

KETS CEO, Chris Erven said, “joining the CDL programme in Toronto offers us a unique opportunity to accelerate KETS’ progress and focus on some key business and commercial goals. Being able to learn from some of the most technically experienced and influential people in quantum tech is a massively humbling experience and hugely motivating for us. I’m really excited to see where the programme can take us.”

CDL-Toronto is located at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Launched in 2012, it was the first CDL location established and currently offers seven streams: Prime, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cities, Health, Quantum, and Space.

Situated in the Toronto-Waterloo tech corridor, CDL-Toronto provides startups with access to business development support from top business students at the Rotman School of Management, funding from leading VC firms, and resources to scale.

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Barclays Entrepreneur Awards highlight and recognise entrepreneurs from the UK who are changing their industries, the economy and society in unique, original and positive ways.

Many thanks to Martin Reid from Future Space for presenting the award on the day and to Matt Brook from Barclays for the nomination.

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