“Research shows that at some point in the not too distant future when quantum information science matures and quantum computers are able to reach a sufficient size and level of sophistication, they’ll be capable of breaking much of the cryptography that currently secures our digital communication,” a senior administration official said.

一位政府高级官员说：“研究表明，在不久的将来，当量子信息科学成熟，量子计算机能够达到足够的规模和复杂程度时，它们将能够打破目前保障我们数字通信安全的大部分加密技术。”

 

By   JASPREET GILL

on May 04, 2022

贾斯普利特·吉尔

2022 年 5 月 4 日

 

The D-Wave Systems Advantage quantum computer, the first such system with a processor architecture of over 5,000 qubits to go into operation outside North America, is seen at the Forschungszentrum Jülich research center on January 17, 2022 in Julich, Germany. (Lukas Schulze/Getty Images)

D-Wave系统公司先进量子计算机是第一个在北美以外投入运行的处理器架构超过5000量子比特的系统，于2022年1月17日在德国于利希的于利希研究中心（Forschungszentrum Jülich）研究中心展出。（卢卡斯·舒尔茨/盖蒂图片社）

 

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden today will sign two directives aimed at advancing quantum science, including a memorandum outlining his administration’s plan to address national security risks posed by quantum computers that could be capable of cracking the Defense Department’s encryption. 

华盛顿：乔·拜登总统今天将签署两项旨在推进量子科学的指令，包括一份备忘录，概述其政府解决量子计算机可能破解国防部加密的国家安全风险的计划。

 

Quantum computers, one of many quantum information science applications, is a “fundamentally different kind of computer with the ability to analyze information in ways that traditional computers cannot,” according to a White House press release announcing the directives. 

根据白宫宣布这些指令的新闻稿，量子计算机是许多量子信息科学应用中的一种，它是“一种完全不同的计算机，能够以传统计算机无法做到的方式分析信息”。

 

Although the Biden administration welcomes “the many promising applications of QIS,” it also acknowledges that advances in quantum technologies pose a risk specifically to America’s economic and national security, a senior administration official told reporters yesterday. 

一位高级政府官员昨日告诉记者，虽然拜登政府欢迎“QIS 的许多有前景的应用”，但它也承认量子技术的进步对美国的经济和国家安全构成了风险。

 

“Research shows that at some point in the not-to-distant future when quantum information science matures and quantum computers are able to reach a sufficient size and level of sophistication, they’ll be capable of breaking much of the cryptography that currently secures our digital communication,” the official said. “The good news is that this is not an insurmountable problem.”

这位官员说：“研究表明，在不久的将来的某个时候，当量子信息科学成熟，量子计算机能够达到足够的规模和复杂程度时，它们将能够打破目前保障我们数字通信安全的大部分加密技术，”“好消息是，这不是一个不可逾越的问题。”

 

The Defense Information Systems Agency is working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and DoD leaders to develop quantum-resistant algorithms into military use, Deepak Seth, DISA’s Emerging Technologies Directorate’s chief engineer, said April 27 at the AFCEA TechNet Cyber conference in Baltimore. 

美国国防信息系统局（DISA）新兴技术理事会首席工程师迪帕克·塞思4月27日在巴尔的摩举行的AFCEA TechNet网络会议上说，国防信息系统局正在与美国国家标准与技术研究院（NIST）和国防部领导人合作，开发用于军事用途的抗量子算法。

 

DISA is looking to NIST to develop a “broadly accepted standardized suite of commercial public key algorithms that are robustly resilient to quantum-based attacks,” he said. 

他说，DISA希望NIST开发一套“广泛接受的标准化商业公钥算法，对基于量子的攻击具有强大的弹性”。

 

“While quantum computers offer great promise…they promise to really revolutionize computing and they offer breakthroughs in science and engineering, but while it’s exciting new technology, they also pose a serious security threat,” Seth said. “If large-scale quantum computers were built or if these computers become operational, our current asymmetric encryption technology today will be rendered insecure.”

塞思说：“虽然量子计算机提供了巨大的前景……它们有望真正变革计算，并在科学和工程领域取得突破，但尽管这是令人兴奋的新技术，它们也构成了严重的安全威胁。”。“如果大规模量子计算机被制造出来，或者这些计算机投入使用，我们当前的非对称加密技术将变得不安全。”

 

No one really knows when a fully functional quantum computer would get built, but security mechanisms in place today won’t be effective in protecting data from quantum-based attacks, he added. According to an April report from the Congressional Research Service, some analysts believe that the first quantum computer prototype “capable of breaking current encryption methods” could be developed between 2030 and 2040. 

他补充说，没有人真正知道何时会建造出功能齐全的量子计算机，但今天的安全机制无法有效保护数据免受基于量子的攻击。根据国会研究局4月份的一份报告，一些分析人士认为，“能够破解当前加密方法”的第一台量子计算机原型可能会在2030年至2040年之间开发出来。

 

The senior administration official added NIST will soon publish new cryptographic standards that can protect against future attacks.  

这位高级政府官员补充说，NIST将很快发布新的加密标准，以防止未来的攻击。

 

“The process to transition America’s most vulnerable IT systems to these new standards will take substantial time, resources and commitment,” the official said. “Accordingly, America must start the lengthy process of updating our IT infrastructure today to protect against this quantum computing threat tomorrow.” 

“将美国最脆弱的IT系统转变为这些新标准的过程将需要大量的时间、资源和承诺，”这位官员说。“因此，美国必须在今天开始更新我们的IT基础设施的漫长过程，以抵御明天的量子计算威胁。”

 

The memorandum Biden will sign today establishes a national policy that seeks to promote US leadership in quantum information science and technology and provides a roadmap for agencies to meet specific milestones to cryptographic migration. 

拜登今天将签署的备忘录确立了一项国家政策，旨在促进美国在量子信息科学和技术领域的领导地位，并为各机构实现密码迁移的具体里程碑提供了路线图。

 

The memorandum also directs the federal government to protect quantum technologies from theft by criminals and adversaries and initiates collaboration between the federal government and private sector by establishing a “Migration to Post-Quantum Cryptography Project” at the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence and an open working group with industry. 

该备忘录还指示联邦政府保护量子技术免受犯罪分子和对手的盗窃，并通过在国家网络安全卓越中心建立“后量子加密迁移项目”和与业界的开放工作组，启动联邦政府和私营部门之间的合作。

 

Biden will also sign an executive order placing the National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee, the federal government’s independent advisory body for quantum information science and technology, directly under the authority of the White House. 

拜登还将签署一项行政命令，将联邦政府的量子信息科学和技术独立咨询机构国家量子倡议咨询委员会直接置于白宫的权力之下。

 

This action aims to ensure “that the president, Congress, federal departments and agencies and the general public receive the most current, accurate and relevant information on quantum information science and technology to drive forward U.S. policy making in this area,” according to the official. 

该官员表示，这一行动旨在确保“总统、国会、联邦部门和机构以及公众获得有关量子信息科学和技术的最新、准确和相关信息，以推动美国在这一领域的政策制定”。 .

 

The White House plans to announce members of the advisory board in the next few weeks. 

白宫计划在未来几周内宣布顾问委员会成员。

 

While the two directives “do much to lay the groundwork for continued American leadership in a promising field of science and technology while mitigating many of the risks,” they’re “just the beginning,” the official said. 

这位官员说，虽然这两项指令“为美国在有前途的科技领域继续保持领导地位奠定了基础，同时减轻了许多风险”，但它们“只是一个开始”。