The Age of Quantum Information

The quantum information age is just around the corner. Soon we will be able to harness the power of quantum theory; a theory that we do not fully understand, yet it seems to be the best explanation we have about the universe. In the coming years quantum computers will revolutionize the world around us. Among others, they will provide the capability to develop new drugs and new materials, run extremely complex simulations for fundamental physics and they will give a huge boost to machine learning applications.

 However, like any other new and revolutionizing technology, it can be misused and cause negative impacts. In the case of quantum computers, the negative impact will be the breakdown of online security, and thus, of the internet as we know it. Researchers around the world are working on solutions to provide security against quantum computer attacks, and the most promising of them belong to the field of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD).

The QT flagship project UNIQORN aims to develop practical and affordable solutions for QKD devices and Mellanox aims to integrate these solutions with its products and make them available to end-users well before the rise of the Quantum Computers. At first, Quantum Random Number Generators (QRNGs), the only known devices capable of producing true random numbers, will be interfaced with Mellanox’s Network Interface Cards (NICs). This will provide the true randomness that is missing from the classical security protocols. Later on, the NICs will be supporting EPR sources and full QKD systems to ensure secure end-to-end communications.