Quantum Versus Quantum: Impact of Quantum Technologies on Cybersecurity

It is now well understood that the quantum computer will revolutionize our lives. For many, the hope is that it will allow computers to solve problems deemed too complex for today’s systems. This is the light side of quantum. For others, the fear is that it will bring havoc to our communication networks. This is the dark side of quantum. As we all know, with quantum it will probably be a bit of both. In this presentation, we will briefly discuss what a quantum computer is and what it does. We will focus on the threat it creates for our cybersecurity infrastructure. Fortunately, solutions against this threat exist. Some of them are classical, with new mathematical problems underpinning cryptography. Others are quantum, relying on the same quantum properties to counter the quantum threat. We will start with quantum random number generation (QRNG), improving entropy in all cryptographic systems. Then we will turn to quantum key distribution (QKD), which can be used as an additional layer of security in cybersystems. We will perform a live demonstration of the most common QKD protocol, the BB84 protocol, and show several real-world implementations of QKD networks. Predicting the future is harder, but we will still have a quick look at our crystal ball to glimpse at how these QKD networks could evolve into full quantum networks.

This event starts at 3:30pm with refreshments, followed at 3:45pm by a short presentation by a local group. The invited presentation starts at 4pm.

Host: Ona Ambrozaite