Cambridge Quantum launches cloud key generation service, with claim of perfect randomness
Never been done before, the company says
UK-based quantum computing software firm Cambridge Quantum has launched what it claims is the first commercial quantum computing service that could not be achieved using a classical computer.
Quantum Origin is a cloud based quantum key generation platform that's based on output from Honeywell H1 trapped-ion quantum computers. While quantum random number generators have been available for a few years, true unpredictability has always been compromised by imperfect hardware, electrical noise and fluctuating operating conditions disrupting the quantum circuits.
Powerful computers can detect patterns and ultimately crack keys created with insufficient entropy.
Cambridge Quantum claims to have achieved a breakthrough with a commercial key generation solution which is hardware independent and, it says, verifiably completely random.
"We don't have to fully characterise or understand the device, we treat it like a black box. We send the challenges and we look at the responses we get. From that we can then derive our randomness," said Duncan Jones, head of cybersecurity at Cambridge Quantum during a press briefing on Monday.
An organisation requiring quantum-generated keys makes an API call to the service, which generates the keys before encrypting them with a transport key and sending them back. The service continuously tests the output from devices for pure randomness.
"That gives us the confidence then to say that the keys that we generate from this platform are the strongest that could ever be created," said Jones.
Cambridge Computing is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Quantinuum, a company created earlier this year through a merger of Cambridge Quantum and Honeywell Quantum Solutions, to bring together hardware and software expertise. Honeywell is the largest shareholder in Quantinuum.
Asked whether Quantum Origin had been independently tested, Ilyas Khan, CEO of Quantinuum and founder of Cambridge Quantum, said it was developed on IBM's quantum computing network, and its output has been tested for randomness by some large IBM clients as well as IBM and Cambridge Quantum.
Representatives from two customers were also on the call. Fujitsu plans to offer the system in its SD-WAN service, having run successful proofs of concept with the service to create quantum-enhanced keys and use them in the network's configuration. Commercial space company Axiom Space has run proofs of concept with the system, too, transmitting encrypted messages to and from the International Space Station.
Cambridge Quantum says that while quantum computing has many potential applications, it is focusing on security first because the need is greatest, most urgent and also best understood given that encryption-cracking devices will likely be with us quite soon. IBM has predicted it will have a commercially relevant quantum computer ready by 2023 while Google says it will have produced a fault-tolerant universal quantum computer by 2029. Meanwhile, there are worries about nation states hoarding stolen encrypted data, ready for the day it can be easily decrypted with such a device.
Quantum Origin has been designed to be compatible with all seven post-quantum cryptography NIST finalists, as well as current cryptosystem algorithms such as RSA and AES and commonly used hardware. Customers can update hardware and software key stores with 'quantum-enhanced' keys via the cloud API without having to change the applications running on them.
The service is charged on a per-key basis on a sliding scale depending on the number of keys generated per month. The company did not give pricing details, but said rates would be similar to current key generation and management services offered by the likes of AWS and GCP.
Launched today, Cambridge Quantum, will initially focus on promoting the service to financial services companies and cyber security vendors, before moving into other sectors such as telecommunications, energy, manufacturing, defence and government.
Quantum Origin will be made broadly available, but as export of quantum computing technology is restricted by the UK and the US, potential customers will be subjected to due diligence tests.