Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2024. Read them in this 16th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Reaching a Safe Future with Quantum Computing
By Rebecca Krauthamer, Co-Founder and CPO, QuSecure
As new standards for quantum-resilient cryptography come into effect, many government agencies will begin executing on their quantum-readiness roadmaps, finalizing cryptographic inventories and adopting quantum safe encryption for their most sensitive communications and data. Consumers will begin to see their favorite applications touting “quantum-secure encryption”.
Core Cybersecurity Strategy:
Quantum resilient encryption adoption will be on every CISO’s cyber roadmap. Quantum decryption by Shor’s algorithm is a known threat, but going further, both AI and Quantum advancement pose “unknown unknowns” to the world of secure communications. In the face of an ever-changing threat landscape, the concept of cryptographic agility – or the ability to control and swap encryption algorithms, entropy and more – will no longer be a ‘nice-to-have’ but will be a core component of cybersecurity strategic roadmaps.
For rapid, scalable, and advanced cryptographic deployment companies will look for quantum-resilient cybersecurity solutions that can be deployed without invasive infrastructure overhauls. Organizations will begin to understand this upgrade cycle as an upgrade to cryptographic agility rather than simply post-quantum cryptography. “Crypto agility orchestration” will become the buzz word for its promise of taking us beyond this cryptography upgrade to resilience in the face of evolving threats to encryption.
AI to Test our Defenses Against Quantum Decryption:
AI will be used for cryptanalysis and testing of the proposed quantum-resilient cryptographic algorithms. This can help in identifying weaknesses or vulnerabilities in these algorithms, aiding in the standardization of more secure cryptographic techniques. Evolution of Threat Landscape: With the advancement of quantum computing and AI-driven attacks, a new breed of cyber threats will emerge. Cybersecurity teams will not only be tasked with defending against traditional malware and breaches but also quantum-oriented store-now-decrypt-later attacks, adversarial machine learning tactics, and AI-driven social engineering schemes. This will necessitate a broader skill set for cybersecurity professionals and more advanced defensive tools and platforms.
Towards Quantum Usefulness:
In October 2023, we saw Atom Computing break through the 1000 physical qubit mark. In 2024 we will see additional companies including IBM break the 1000 qubit barrier and beyond. While qubit count isn’t the only measure of the usefulness of a quantum processor, it marks significant progress in the world of quantum computing. It’s quite possible we will see some of the first instances emerge of quantum advantage – or quantum computers solving useful problems significantly better than classical computers.
Standards Finalization:
Our secure communications over internet and transactions on the blockchain both suffer the same vulnerability: decryption by “cryptographically relevant quantum computers”. As this threat looms nearer, in 2024, global organizations like NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) are set to finalize and recommend certain quantum-resilient cryptographic algorithms, providing direction for businesses worldwide to defend against the threat of quantum decryption. This will officially usher in the “post-RSA era”.
Funding for Quantum R&D:
To date, the US, Germany, Canada, France, the UK, India, Australia, and the Netherlands have each invested north of $1B in quantum advancement. China has put in more than $15B to date. In 2024 we will expect to see a significant bump in funding put into development at the national level, especially from the US as it furthers investment in maintaining its global lead.
As the field matures, there’ll be moves toward setting standards for quantum programming, hardware interfaces, and best practices, led by a combination of industry leaders and international organizations. In addition, we will see the number of advanced degree programs in quantum information technologies increase significantly, as the quantum workforce demands grow.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rebecca is co-founder and chief Product Officer of QuSecure, a Post-Quantum cybersecurity firm, as well as Founder and CEO of Quantum Thought, a quantum computing venture studio. She holds a BS in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University. Rebecca was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 List in Science in 2020. Previously, she founded and acted as CTO of Neural Sales, an AI platform for sales enablement and served as CTO of the computer vision company Beseeq. A passionate proponent of building ethical AI, she serves on the advisory board of the AI Ethics Journal and often works as a subject matter expert, building curriculum for courses such as Coursera’s Certified Ethical Emerging Technologist Program.
