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Episode Description: When quantum computing pioneer Michele Mosca met Peter Shor in the 1990s, he thought quantum computing was "science fiction." Now, he's warning that we're just "a few quarters" away from quantum computers capable of shattering the encryption protecting our global financial system, government communications, and critical infrastructure.
In this must-listen episode, the Oxford-educated mathematician and co-founder of Evolution Q breaks down why symmetric key infrastructure (SKI) and "cryptographic resilience" are essential as quantum computing advances faster than our security preparations. With remarkable clarity, Mosca explains how the nine-year NIST standardization process signals both progress and concerning delays in our quantum readiness.
The interview explores why most organizations are unprepared, how quantum networks could provide a novel security solution, and what businesses should be doing now to protect their long-term data security. Mosca also details the latest breakthroughs in quantum error correction across ion traps, neutral atoms, and superconducting qubits that are bringing us closer to fault-tolerant quantum computing.
Key Topics Covered:
- The evolution of quantum computing from theoretical concept to imminent reality
- How close we are to breaking modern encryption standards
- Evolution Q's innovative approach to quantum resilience
- The concept of symmetric key infrastructure (SKI) as a defense mechanism
- Recent breakthroughs in quantum error correction
- Why organizations need both defense-in-depth and cryptographic diversity
- The limitations of the NIST standardization process and what it means for security
Episode Highlights:
"I met Don Coppersmith... he told me he was helping a colleague improve his algorithm where you'd trap these atoms and you'd shine lasers on them, do exponentiation and then do a Fourier transform... I thought he was joking. I'd never heard of this before."
"We look at it as an engineering challenge. Oh, how much does it cost to scale this up? By a factor of 10 or 100 or 1,000, but 1,000, it's like 10 bits of security... It's not that much of a security buffer. The one we're used to in cryptography between what we could break and those we can't, we want an enormous gap."
About the Guest: Michele Mosca is the CEO and co-founder of evolutionQ, a start-up that provides scalable defense-in-depth with post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and quantum key distribution (QKD) software solutions for cryptographic resilience and quantum-safe security.
Michele is a renowned expert in cryptography and among the world's leading experts at the intersection of quantum computing and cybersecurity. He has been instrumental in working with the business community to share the importance of cryptography as a
critical cybersecurity control protecting both data and communications.
Prior to evolutionQ, Michele was a founder of the world-leading Institute for Quantum Computing, a Professor in the Department of Combinatorics & Optimization at the University of Waterloo, and a founding member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. His work on quantum computing has been published widely in top journals and textbooks.
Michele worked on cryptography during his BMath (Waterloo) and MSc (Oxford) and obtained his Doctorate (Oxford) in Quantum Computer Algorithms. He was appointed as a Knight in the Order of Merit by the Government of Italy in 2018. The Knighthood
recognizes Michele’s contributions in quantum information science and digital security, as well as teaching and outreach.
Connect and Learn More:
- Stay updated on quantum security developments: quantum-safe.ca
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- Join the conversation with #QuantumSecurity #PostQuantumCryptography #QuantumThreat #CyberResilience
