Author: Bilal Sheik

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In Conversation with Sunil Gupta: The Exhilarating Journey of Building QNu Labs

Post author By Bilal Sheik
Post date March 9, 2023

In Conversation with Sunil Gupta: The Exhilarating Journey of Building QNu Labs

Sunil Gupta, Co-founder & CEO of QNu Labs, chronicles the progress of QNu Labs in an exclusive interview with Harichandan Arakali from Forbes India.

Here are the excerpts from the Interview:

Tell us about your journey of founding QNu Labs.

In 2016, India moved from a cash-based economy to a digital economy. India saw a surge in internet use and online products and services, including online banking and e-commerce. As technology specialists, we, the founders of QNu, envisioned technologies like 5G, blockchain, IoT, and robotics converging in the span of five years. We realised that in such a hyperconnected digital world, trust becomes paramount.

In a hyperconnected digital world, trust is important

The rise in digital transactions also saw an increase in the number of data breaches and data hacks. It was evident that systems lacked the required security mechanisms which consumers can trust. One cannot have a digital economy without digital trust.

We saw this as a significant problem in the thriving digital economy and resolved to provide a solution. We understood that the best solution is to replace classical security with quantum physics based quantum-security.

What has been the growth trajectory of QNu Labs since its inception? Tell us about the evolution of your flagship products.

We were very clear about founding a deep tech venture. India did not have an established deep tech startup, completely backed by research, before QNu. The right talent was hard to find, not many understood the science we were working on, and the knowledge was limited to academic circles. It was a challenging start!

Our well-wishers tried to dissuade us from starting the venture in India. They suggested that western countries would provide fertile ground. But, we were convinced about India. We knew that if India powers its digital growth engine, it needs digital security. So, we made India our base.

If India powers its digital growth engine, it needs digital security.

Any deep-tech company has to navigate through four stages of growth:

We spent a considerable amount of time–almost two years–in establishing the Proof of Science. We then collaborated with Cisco Launchpad for our technological development. Their guidance and conducive pressure to perform within set timelines helped us achieve our goals. In October 2018, we launched our first (and India's first) quantum-security product.

We were fortunate enough to receive whole-hearted support from the believers in our work and objectives. Our angel funders not only provided us with the necessary financial support but also motivated and encouraged us to keep going forward. We raised about $5M in a pre-seed funding round from these angel investors.

The challenge, which I see as an opportunity, with deep tech is that a company needs money not just to succeed but also to experiment and fail. Success is an iterative process. Our funders were patient and wise to understand this completely.

Deep tech needs money not just to succeed but also to experiment and fail.

We are the second company in the world to have developed three unique products in this technology - quantum random number generator, quantum key distribution, and post-quantum cryptography. These three products cast a wide security net for defence and critical infrastructure (such as banks, healthcare, and data centre) problems.

QNu has already established a quantum lab with the Indian Army. Who are your other noteworthy customers?

Indian Defence is our biggest customer. Along with the Indian Army, we are also trying to set up systems for the Indian Navy.

We have a few customers in the Middle East, a customer in Belarus who is using our products for securing the blockchain, and many more.

We have interesting use cases for our products. I would like to mention one in particular. One of our customers did not want its fleet of ships to be bonded by the LAN cables that run across the dockyard from the ship to the control base. They wanted a WiFi connection. But, WiFi is not an inherently secure form of communication. So, we created a quantum-secure VPN tunnel for them. It allowed the ships to move about freely in the dockyard.

We achieved mobility by creating a quantum-based trust in the WiFi system

We are in the process of developing enterprise solutions. Our focus is developing unique and widely usable applications for enterprises.

What is the next phase of growth for QNu Labs?

We are now in the stage of “Proof of Scale”. Our focus is to build applications and products that can be used by the masses. We are moving from a focused, targeted, niche market to a mainstream. So, these are exciting times for us!

QNu Labs is thankful to Harichandan Arakali and Forbes India team for hosting Sunil Gupta.

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Y2Q: Preparing for the quantum future

Post author By Bilal Sheik
Post date March 8, 2023

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Y2Q: Preparing for the quantum future

QNu Labs | Mar 08, 2023

Most of us remember Y2K. The global Y2K project aimed to replace the two-digit year codes with four-digit codes by December 31, 1999, to ensure that computers didn’t think the year was 1900 and bring the world to a halt. We successfully navigated the problem. At the tick of 00:00:01 on January 1, 2000, the world functioned as usual.

The anticlimactic outcome of the “millennium bug” was in part due to pre-emptive measures fuelled by government spending to avoid calamity. According to BlackBerry, the U.S. spent upwards of $100 billion in the preface of Y2K.

Why should we reminisce about Y2K?

With the advent and rapid developments of quantum computers, the world is staring at a problem of similar magnitude. It is called Y2Q (Years to Quantum). It is the year when quantum computers will break public-key encryption and completely expose our internet.

In fact, the Cloud Security Alliance has created a Y2Q countdown clock, arbitrarily specifying April 14, 2030, as the deadline by which the world must upgrade its IT infrastructure to meet the Y2Q threat.

Y2K and Y2Q differ, of course: Y2Q’s timing is unknown, but its impact imaginable, while Y2K’s timing was known although its impact wasn’t.

What is the expected impact of Y2Q?

Many large corporations such as Yahoo! And LinkedIn have been the victims of the biggest data breaches in the 21st century, with the number of those affected ranging from 117 million executives (LinkedIn in 2012) to as many as 3 billion users (Yahoo in 2013). If such mega virtual break-ins sound scary, they are merely the prologue.

Since the 1970s, the RSA cryptosystem, which uses very large prime numbers to create public keys that serve as the basis of the security protocol for data communicated on the internet, has proven to be relatively effective. Although Peter Shor of Bell Labs published a paper in 1994 showing that a quantum algorithm could crack the RSA cryptosystem, machines that can run such an algorithm are yet to be developed. It has therefore been possible to deploy bigger public keys faster than computers have speeded up, ensuring that the RSA cryptosystem continues to work.

However, who said that Shor’s algorithm is the way to crack encryption algorithms?

In 2019, Chinese researchers turned the integer factorization problem into an optimization task. They used the D-Wave 2000Q quantum annealer, a quantum machine specialised in optimization problems, to factor the integer 376289 with just 94 qubits. Further optimizations allowed the researchers to factorise the much larger number 1005973 with only 89 qubits. A very recent global survey of security professionals carried out by Dimensional Research shows that of the surveyed 614 security professionals, 61 percent think that the quantum attacks will neutralise current encryption technology within just 2 years. 28 percent think that current encryption technologies will be compromised within 3-5 years.

Y2Q will arrive sooner than you think. If you aren’t ready to ride it, get ready to be swept away!

Preparing for Y2Q

One cannot technically wait for the day when quantum computers break encryption algorithms that enable e-commerce, data security, and secure communications. Adversaries are already preparing for Y2Q by employing ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ strategies.

It is time that organisations implement a strong quantum security strategy to protect themselves and their customers from quantum attacks.

Deploy quantum random number generators

Post-quantum cryptography refers to the development of new, quantum computing-proof encryption algorithms.

Quantum key distribution pertains to the use of quantum physics to distribute keys randomly between users while requiring a global network of optical links.

Today’s cryptographic systems and algorithms use software-based random number generators called pseudo-random number generators. PRNGs are typically used to generate a sequence of random numbers to support cryptographic operations such as generating seeds or encryption keys. Given the deterministic nature of algorithmic PRNGs, random numbers generated by a PRNG are technically not random. It makes cryptographic systems or services that rely on PRNGs vulnerable to quantum attacks.

To address this vulnerability, organisations should start replacing all PRNGs with Quantum Random Number Generators as soon as possible. Instead of using a deterministic algorithm, a QRNG can generate truly random numbers by measuring and digitising a quantum process, which, by nature, is non-deterministic.

QRNG solutions are already commercially available from several vendors in various form factors, such as rack-mounted appliances, PCI cards, and chips.

Post-quantum cryptography will likely be the most feasible option for businesses; it will require fewer changes in the computing infrastructure while replacing existing encryption algorithms. However, the transition will be difficult for businesses that have to learn to navigate a heterogeneous protocol landscape. The process takes time and requires frequent software upgrades.

The best way to tackle the Y2Q problem is to develop ‘crypto-agility’, the ability to switch rapidly between cryptographic standards, implement the best solutions available at any point, and be prepared for more changes in the future. Only crypto-agility can help companies ease the transition by protecting against quantum attacks, minimising their impact, and helping faster recovery. It will also enable companies to minimise the costs of tackling the problem, which will extend from the operational losses caused by cybersecurity issues to investments in the replacement of vulnerable equipment and protocol upgrades, which could all add up to hundreds of billions of dollars across industries.

It will not be easy to deal with cybersecurity once quantum computers see the light of day. You have no choice but to start thinking about how to take on an inevitable threat. If you act decisively and early, you will find ways to survive the Y2Q problem. However, remember that the quantum clock is already ticking.

QNu Labs has a range of quantum-secured products to dodge the Y2Q scenario.

Reach us for a demo

Sources:

Fortune Magazine

SDxCentral

Help Net Security

DEC 23, 2020

Quantum Random Number Generator and its relevance today

DEC 18, 2020

Dark Side of Quantum Computers A Lurking Threat to National Security

FEB 14, 2023

Can new optical fibres fast-track Quantum Internet?

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Mitigating Risks of Quantum Attacks: Timeline for Critical Industries

Post author By Bilal Sheik
Post date March 8, 2023

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Mitigating Risks of Quantum Attacks: Timeline for Critical Industries

QNu Labs | Mar 06 , 2023

Y2Q, the year when quantum computers will become powerful enough to break the current encryption code, is approaching sooner than expected. The moment is dreaded by businesses, governments, and individuals alike because it poses a serious threat to the security of our networks and data.

Quantum computers, when ready, will decrypt today’s asymmetric security protocols that are widely used to secure messages through public channels. It includes popular protocols like TLS/SSL (used to secure HTTPS connections), SSH (used to secure remote access and file transfers), and IPsec (used to secure VPNs).

We do not have a way of knowing precisely the moment when the first fully error-corrected quantum computer will arrive, but we do know that a few industries are more at risk today than others. A calculated estimate is that Y2Q will be in 2030.

So, how should businesses prepare for the inevitable threat?

At risk before 2025

These industries store and process sensitive and confidential information serving as a gold mine for data hackers. The “harvest now, decrypt later” approach is worthwhile because of the sheer power of the data harvested.

For these industries, data is vulnerable whenever it passes between systems and devices. Every touchpoint must be protected to defend against the quantum threat.

Defence companies routinely handle high-value strategic assets and interact with sensitive systems, making data security mission-critical. Quantum security, therefore, becomes a critical part of their value proposition.

At risk between 2025-2030

The healthcare industry is already a significant target for threat actors looking to harvest sensitive information. Healthcare providers are acutely aware of the moral and reputational responsibility required to safeguard patient data. For them, adopting quantum-secured products is not a privilege but a necessity.

Heavy industries and energy companies are at risk of an attack on their patented technologies and confidential manufacturing processes. Materials science, especially nanotechnologies, has the potential for colossal devastation if misused.

At risk after 2030

For telecom companies, quantum computers threaten to expose critical infrastructure to an attack, with potentially devastating consequences. Secure communications apps are also vulnerable. They are often used by journalists, whistle-blowers, and political parties to exchange sensitive information, so the data exchanged via these apps can be particularly damaging in the hands of bad actors.

Semiconductor manufacturers need to assess quantum encryption as they sit high on the supply chain of consumer electronics. The wired and wireless networking businesses should also leverage quantum security as they play a pivotal role in the electronics ecosystem. Other industries need to buckle up as well, but they can afford to join the bandwagon later. The repercussions of a data breach, though paramount, are not as devastating.

Mitigating Risks

At a high level, decision-makers can pursue one of three paths to mitigate the threats posed by capable quantum systems: adopt PQC solutions today, retrofit existing systems to PQC standards at a later date, or take action only to enhance the efficacy of traditional encryption protocols, all while monitoring evolving industry standards and regulations.

The precise decisions will depend on when organisations need to begin mitigation, the performance requirements of cryptography protocols, and the number and distribution of connected devices and systems that require protection.

QNu Labs offers several products to curb the risks and protect data from quantum attacks. From quantum-based encryptions to entropy enhancement services, QNu covers all security bases.

The products Armos, Tropos, and Hodos form the three pillars of quantum-powered security provided by QNu.

Armos QKD is a state-of-the-art appliance providing unconditional security for critical data through quantum physics.
Tropos does not rely on deterministic mathematical algorithms; it generates ontic random numbers from a quantum source, making it suitable for all applications.
Hodos is the next generation of cryptographic protocol recommended by NIST that replaces today's RSA-based vulnerable systems with a quantum-resistant one.

Irrespective of the industry you belong to, the quantum threat is real. It is never too early to start working towards fortifying your business data.

Reach us for a demo