Cybersecurity Policy Report, Panelists Add up Quantum Computing Benefits, Risks, (Mar 13, 2024)

By Jeff Williams

With advances in quantum computing and networking developing quickly, now is the time to lay the groundwork for supporting and accessing those capabilities, as well as addressing related cybersecurity and policy questions, panelists said today during a virtual Broadband Breakfast event.

Gary Bolton, president and chief executive officer of the Fiber Broadband Association, said during the session people should be “scared, but excited” about quantum computing’s potential.

“It’s no secret that quantum computing is coming very quickly,” he said.

As the nation focuses on expanding its “critical broadband infrastructure” through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program and other initiatives, Mr. Bolton said, “we need to consider what the future will bring” regarding quantum computing and quantum networks, as well as artificial intelligence and the metaverse.

Mr. Bolton also stressed the need for fiber networks to enable quantum computing and quantum networking.

“If you don’t have fiber, you’re not going to be able to participate in the quantum future,” he said.

As other panelists did, Mr. Bolton pointed in particular to the effect quantum computing would have on cybersecurity.

While quantum computing could be used by hackers to break existing cybersecurity methods, it also could enable the creation of an “un-hackable network” to protect data and critical infrastructure, he stated.

Overall, he said, “this can be incredibly scary, or it can be incredibly amazing. We just need to make sure that we have the right policies in place ... to make sure that we are able to harness the tremendous power [of quantum computing].”

Ryan Lafler, president and chief technology officer at Quantum Corridor, highlighted the cybersecurity implications of quantum computing, calling its development the “arms race of our time.”

In particular, Mr. Lafler said, the Department of Defense has an interest in “getting ahead of this curve. It’s very, very important because you’re not just talking about the collapse of financial markets. You’re talking about potentially getting ahold of military secrets. You’re talking about [nuclear weapons] codes. ... And in this ever-connected world, people are going to be vulnerable.”

There are new, more robust encryption methods being developed to shore up security in the face of the increased processing power of quantum computers, he noted.

Current encryption methods “will not be hefty enough to stomach brute force attacks that are going to come from quantum computers and that are going to come from quantum [communications],” he added.

Vaibhav Garg, executive director–cybersecurity and privacy research and public policy research at Comcast Cable, agreed with other panelists that quantum computing was “likely to be complementary” to classical computing rather than replace classical computing entirely.

Noting that quantum computing will “significantly” reduce the time needed to decrypt cybersecurity safeguards, as well as enable better security, Mr. Garg said that “we need to make sure that we are building quantum-secure products, right now.”

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