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Imagine a technology that could undo all encryption on the internet. It would be impossible to trust any information communicated, impossible to verify any identity. The security of our society and our economies would crumble.

Thats the potential threat posed by future quantum computers. For all the good that quantum computing promises eradicating disease, helping us understand climate change, identifying new molecules and materials in the wrong hands it could pose an existential risk to classical computers and existing technologies. Fault-tolerant quantum computers with enough processing power would be enough to unravel all the cryptography used in the modern internet.

This threat is especially relevant when it comes to blockchain. More and more companies are adopting blockchain technology given the transparency, security and reduced costs. 84% of companies had some involvement in blockchain in 2018. Quantum threatens the very fabric of the distributed ledger, with the ability to break everything the secure, decentralised, transparent networks stand for.

Quantum computing wont destroy blockchains themselves. It instead threatens to break the security features that underpin them; the features which make it the unique and trusted network it is today.

As public data structures that rely heavily on cryptography, blockchains are natural targets for hackers looking to exploit cryptographic vulnerabilities. Whether its a public chain used to send, verify and receive cryptocurrency, or a private version built for business, each one relies on blocks of data placed one after the other. For data to be included in this chain, it needs to be added and then verified by other members of the group.

Take the example of a private enterprise blockchain. When one company wants to move assets to another company they put the transaction on a block and add this block to the chain. Other members of the community look at the block, confirm that the correct value has gone from company A to company B and they verify the transaction. Once its added, this transaction (or any flow of data) is locked into the chain for life. Its kept not only for posterity, but so that everyone involved knows exactly where that data has come from. The latter is particularly useful for supply chains or tracking the sources of ingredients in food or materials in devices.

On the plus side, this process means the entire history is preserved, locked and protected. On the other hand, it means that the entire history and its security is dependent on the last block placed. If a criminal were to bypass this security and transmit a fraudulent block, every point forward would be based on a modified version of history. Or worse, blockchains could fork, with different parties holding different versions of the past. It would be unclear which parties owned valuable assets, potentially allowing criminals to steal what isnt theirs.

This is bad enough when the data held on blockchain is financial, let alone as the technology is adopted by health providers, governments and even used to underpin the digital data of entire countries all routes that could be, and are being, explored.

In its current form, the security used to protect each of these blocks is robust and resistant to traditional cracking methods. Yet its facing a significant threat; one that has already been proven the threat of quantum-based algorithms. These algorithms can and will break such keys, and they will eventually do so with relative ease. This means its only a matter of time before robust quantum computers currently under development will be able to break larger and larger keys. Some estimates place this moment as little as five to 10 years away.

The only way to keep blockchains safe is to protect them with quantum-proof cryptographic keys in the first place; keys that are impenetrable from even the fastest, most advanced quantum computers we can envision today. To fight quantum with quantum.

The only way to keep blockchains safe is to protect them with quantum-proof cryptographic keys in the first placeTo fight quantum with quantum.

In a paper, published this month with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Tecnolgico de Monterrey, we have developed a proof-of-concept that can be built as a layer on top of existing blockchain technologies. This layer relies upon CQCs IronBridge Platform to generate provably-perfect, quantum-proof keys that address two particular areas of weakness uncovered in blockchain technology. These are the internet communications between blockchain nodes, and blockchain transaction signatures used by businesses to verify their identity when submitting transactions or validating blocks.

By quantum-proof, we refer to keys that are generated using quantum computers, harnessing the innate randomness of quantum mechanics. Not only are these keys completely unpredictable to a quantum attacker, but they are also based on algorithms that are believed to be unbreakable by quantum computers. This technology, available through the IronBridge platform from CQC, works today, even on the limited quantum computers that currently exist, and without ever interfering with a blockchains functionality. It represents the first time ever such a solution has been built and proven in this way.

Yet because securing a blockchain involves applying the same remedies as for other technologies, the work weve done here is not unique to blockchains. It has vast potential.

However, the system is not perfect. Its far more efficient for quantum cryptography to be built into the very bones of blockchain technology, rather than layered on top. It is hoped this research encourages blockchain vendors towards earlier adoption of quantum-proof algorithms and key generation.

Others are approaching the quantum cybersecurity threat in different ways. Companies such as British Telecom and Toshiba are exploring how to share keys using quantum physics; a process known as quantum key distribution (QKD). These QKD systems are still in their infancy, with many technical challenges ahead, but they show promise as another area where quantum will strengthen cybersecurity.

The threat posed to blockchains by quantum computing isnt new, nor is it something thats going to hit in the next few months. But every baby step we take towards faster, cheaper quantum computers today is bringing it more starkly into view. It may be five years from now, it could be 15, but the sooner we protect blockchains and get the basics right today, the more protected it and us will be in the future.

Duncan Jones is Head of Quantum Cybersecurity at Cambridge Quantum.

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The only answer to the quantum cybersecurity threat is quantum - Sifted

The Republican Party is associating Democrats in close 2022 midterm election races with critical race theory, deploying their latest culture war strategy as part of the rights bid to regain control of the House of Representatives.

The strategy is rooted in what Republican officials believe worked for them in 2020: tying Democrats in swing districts to a hyperemotional and tense local issue, even if its not something that Congress has much of a role in. In the last election, it was police funding and Black Lives Matter protests.

After last summers widespread protests around policing and race, the far right has built an inaccurate narrative around critical race theory, misappropriating the term to inspire fear among white people by suggesting that their children are being shamed for being white, silenced in the classroom, or indoctrinated with radical teachings. Critical race theory, in reality, acknowledges the countrys long history of racism and resulting inequity as a factor when evaluating policy but its quickly become a catchall term for pushback on diversity efforts.

With that groundwork laid, the party is coalescing around a movement to ban critical race theory in public school curriculum. Tucker Carlson relentlessly hammers this to Fox News viewers, some Republican members of Congress bring it up at unrelated hearings, and parents are being arrested protesting it at board meetings for schools where critical race theory isnt taught.

Earlier this month, Rep. Haley Stevens, a Democrat from Michigan, was heckled during an intense town hall after she told a crowd that she didnt believe school curriculums were a congressional issue. The exchange came after she was questioned about her stance on non-empirical critical race theory being taught in classrooms.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the partys House campaign arm, quickly published the exchange online with the headline, Youre a Coward!

And last week, the NRCC linked Democratic Reps. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, Cindy Axne of Iowa, and Andy Kim of New Jersey to critical race theory.

Andy Kim is flirting with critical race theory, read an email blasted to reporters by an NRCC staffer. Does Kim want Critical Race Theory included as part of the curriculum in New Jersey schools?

In Axnes case, the NRCC sent out a similar email pointing out her silence on the topic as state representatives move to ban the concept in schools.

All of the Democrats targeted by the NRCC over the past month represent districts that appear on lists of vulnerable seats up for reelection in 2022. Theyre all representative of sparse suburban districts, a key group of voters Republicans are trying to win back, according to CityLabs index of congressional density.

Its a familiar playbook, where Republicans hyperpolarize progressive causes then tie Democrats to them. In 2020, Max Rose, a Democrat, lost to Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican from Staten Island, after Republicans pummeled the one-term member of Congress with ads linking him to Black Lives Matters protesters, which didnt help in a borough that Donald Trump won. Republicans also targeted Rose and Dana Balter, a Democrat who lost to Rep. John Katko in New Yorks 24th District, by tying them to calls for ending cash bail.

The Republican campaign committees have been running polls this month as they coalesce around the strategy. Internal surveys conducted by the Republican Governors Association and the National Republican Senate Committee, campaign arms for Republican candidates for governor and the Senate, in early June found that a majority of voters in 26 battleground states had a negative view of statements that conservatives have worked hard to associate with the theory.

The survey found that 63% of voters disagreed with a statement asserting that white Americans were inherently racist because they benefited from systematic racism and white privilege. It also found that 68% of voters disagreed that the US was founded on the practice of slavery and white supremacy that continues to this day.

But the statements presented to voters in the survey dont offer an accurate representation of what critical race theory actually is. Legal scholars created the theory in the 1970s as an alternative to legal and public policy analysis that did not consider the historical context of race and the effects of racism as a factor in evaluations of policy.

Citizens for Renewing America, a conservative advocacy group, published a guide that encourages parents to form grassroots groups and coalitions to oppose the theory. The guide pointed to a Texas school district, where parents formed a political action committee to oppose a diversity plan introduced by the school board. The group raised $200,000 to support a slate of races including the mayoral race, two city council seats, and two school board seats. Every candidate supported by the PAC won their race by nearly 40% in the May election.

Its a strategy that Democrats are familiar with, after the 2020 cycle when the party underperformed in down-ballot races across the country.

An analysis of the partys challenges during the 2020 election commissioned by Third Way, the Collective PAC, and Latino Victory Fund found that Democrats across the country struggled to respond to Republican attacks centered around defunding the police. The study also identified the attacks as part of a larger effort to paint Democrats as a party of radicals.

The authors of the report wrote that the 2020 election saw increasing amounts of dog whistle politics and overt racism that impacted voting decisions across the country.

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Republicans Are Weaponizing Critical Race Theory To Win Back The House In 2022 - BuzzFeed News

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz joined "Fox News Primetime" host Jesse Watters Thursday evening to discuss President Joe Biden's job performance since taking office nearly seven months ago.

JESSE WATTERS: Joe Biden's been dismantling America ever since he took office. We've been reporting on it extensively. The Democrats seem to believe that Uncle Joe is doing a great job until now. A new survey out shows even members of the president's own party are losing faith in this self-described "healer in chief." Since April, Democrat's approval rating for Biden's economic agenda plummeted 12 points. And the same can be said for just about every other issue.

Approving for his handling of racial inequality, taxation, immigration, COVID, gun violence have all dropped. It looks like they aren't buying Biden's bag of excuses for why nearly everything in the country is falling apart. ImmigrationKamala is taking care of that. High taxeseverybody needs to just pay their fair share. Crimeget ready. It's the Republican's fault.

TED CRUZ: I will say it's been dramatic just how quickly Joe Biden and Kamala Harris lurched to the left, I mean, almost from the opening day of the administration, they made the decision to hand control of the Democratic Party over to the radical extreme. And so the policy agenda is being driven by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and AOC. And we're seeing an absolute disaster on every front. You went through on crime. You know, when the radicals who advocate abolishing the police become two of the senior officials in the Biden Department of Justice that shows they've given in to the crazy left.

On the border, when you hand control of border control policy over to the radicals who want open borders and don't want the laws enforced, you create a border crisis that puts us on a path to have over two million people cross illegally. And this year and when you propose seven trillion dollars of new spending, trillions of dollars of new taxes and new regulations that kill small businesses and kill jobs, well, the American people start to notice this.

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Jesse Watters: Democrats have mismanaged everything - Fox News

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Submitted by Keysight Technologies

Keysight Blog

By Brianne McClure | Brand Storyteller

Two years into the electrical engineering program at Rutgers University, Elizabeth (Liz) Ruetsch called her father in tears. She told him that she wanted to quit the program. The problem was, as her father pointed out pragmatically, she didn't have a plan B.

Liz shared this story with me when I invited her to participate in our Refusing Limits interview series to celebrateInternational Women in Engineering Day. Despite her initial feelings that the electrical engineering program was too challenging and she could not see herself working in research and development, Liz would go on to graduate as one of six women in a class of 160 engineers. She has since become an inspiration to many engineers especially women.

On her way to the finish line, Liz saw many of her female peers come to a similar crossroads and drop out. Thats when she realized how important it is for women in engineeringto have beacons. Liz explained that beacons are people in the industry who inspire you and give you a reason to stick with the engineering journey when things get tough. Once she found her own beacons, Liz wanted to help other women do the same, so they would be inspired to complete the engineering program.

When I spoke with Liz, I was eager to learn how she went from almost dropping out of engineering school to forging a fascinating career in the test and measurement industry - spanning twenty-seven years of sales, marketing, and leadership. She has worked in the US and internationally during her career, including a two-year assignment living and working in China. She was also recognized by the Society of Women Engineers with a Global Leadership Award and the North Bay Business Journal with a Women in Business Award. She now leads the quantum engineering team at Keysight.

Liz, how much of your ability to stick with the engineering program came down to sheer determination? And do you think women with grit are more likely to succeed as engineers?

The women in my engineering program were brilliant and had plenty of grit. So, I think it's more likely that they didn't have good enough reasons to keep going. The program is very demanding, and if you can't picture yourself coming out of it and entering a career that excites you, changing course makes a lot of sense. That's especially true at a university like Rutgers, where you can pursue degrees outside of engineering.

During the program, I found myself looking for inspiration. When I was introduced to a broader range of engineering careers, I became more excited about being an engineer. I wanted to inspire that same kind of excitement in my peers, soI got involved with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). As co-president of our local section, I introduced a weekly speaker series where people from different engineering disciplines and roles (sales, marketing, operations) would talk about their work. Those speakers became beacons who showed the women in our sectionthat even if mechanical or electrical engineering wasn't for them, they might enjoy industrial, packaging, or environmental engineering. I'm proud to say that the program made a difference in retaining women in the overall engineering program.

We also started a program where girls in high school spent a weekend at the university getting a feel for studying engineering by working on some projects and meeting women studying in various engineering fields. When I received my leadership award at the SWE conference, I sought out the current president of the Rutgers SWE section. I was thrilled to hear from her that this weekend program is still going today - almost 30 years later.

In hindsight, do you think working through the most challenging parts of the engineering program helped prepare you for the real world?

I learned a lot about myself between the time I called my father - ready to quit - and graduation. Sticking with the program taught me how to navigate a hard situation, that I knew would last at least another two years until completion. Along the way, I realized that I dont have to have all of the answers on day one to keep moving forward. Once I could break the unknown down into smaller, solvable problems, the challenge suddenly became exciting and ultimately rewarding. And Im glad I learned that lesson early on because the most pivotal points in my career came down to taking on big challenges that I did not have a clear path to solving on day one.

Can you describe some of those pivotal points in your career?

When I started my career as a sales representative for Hewlett Packard (HP), my customer was a big defense contractor. At that time, I was twenty-something years old and trying to sell to a bunch of guys who were radar, missile, and satellite engineers. The first time I walked into a meeting, they said, "you know nothing about radar, right?" They said, "sure; maybe you have an engineering degree. And maybe you understand circuits and electromagnetics or digital signal processing from your textbooks. But what do you really know about radar? How can you possibly help me?" That was an intimidating situation. Luckily, I was learning at that time how to be comfortable with not having all the answers. So, I said, "You know what? I know absolutely nothing about radar, but I'd love to hear about it." And thankfully, people love to talk about what they are working on. And the more they talked, the more I listened to their challenges and learned what solutions we could bring to bear. Many of these customers became close friends, and here it is twenty years later, and I'm still in contact with them even though they are well into retirement.

Another significant challenge in my career was living and working in China. I had traveled to China frequentlyand managed people there and in 14 other countries. But living and working in China is far different than staying at the Marriott there for a few days. During my first three months, I struggled with learning the most effective way to lead the local team. But once I solicited some excellent mentors and did some deep reflecting, it turned into a tremendous experience. I learned more in my two years there than in other roles I had held for over five years.

Twenty-seven years later, I'm still doing work that stretches me as a leader. Because as I like to tell my teams - it's good to feel scared every few years. Thats how you know you are pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Before taking on my latest role, I had expressed interest to my management about getting involved with mergers and acquisitions. In late 2019, an opportunity came about where we planned to acquire a company in Boston and set up a research and development team there. My leaders were looking for a general manager to integrate the acquired company with Keysight. It was one of those opportunities that's equal parts thrilling and terrifying. On the one hand, I had an excellent background in many of the areas that touch quantum, including aerospace and defense, markets like China, business models for selling software and services, and providing complete test solutions. On the other hand, I was not a quantum physicist. Since Keysight is a results-oriented company, and I've delivered results consistently in multiple business units, the management team supported me to stretch myself into this new GM role. When they offered me the role, I took on the challenge enthusiastically and started to navigate this new territory.

And youve been in that role for over a year now. Would you make the same decision again?

It was a massive leap for me with a lot of unknowns. But I knew that I would be able to figure things out along the way. Part of the reason I was confident was because of the caliber of the team that I had the opportunity to work with and learn from. And we have since added to that team with some exceptional industry and university talent. Having the opportunity to lead theteam that is enabling our customers to advance quantum computing has been one of the most exhilarating adventures of my career. And were just getting started!

Immediately after we founded our quantum research lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the world went into quarantine due to the pandemic. Like many people, we had to learn how to interview, hire, onboard, and manage a new team remotely. Hiring both quantum physicists and software engineers for research and development was entirely new to me, so we formed a group of managers with experience in this area to assist.

In parallel with this work, we also started the process to acquire another company,Quantum Benchmark. Quantum Benchmark was the first acquisition that I led from beginning to end, which was an even more complex challenge. It takes a lot of preparation to identify and promote an acquisition target to your CEO and board of directors. Once again, I called on a team of people with experience in this area to coach and guide us. And it worked out as Quantum Benchmark became part of Keysight in April.

Youve talked a lot about the importance of taking on challenges that push you out of your comfort zone. How does that belief manifest in your leadership style?

For the first time in my management career, there are more people on my team with Ph.D.'s than not. These individuals are at the leading edge of quantum, and they are very comfortable pushing the boundaries of technology. But I did encourage our team to be intentional about cultivating a diversity of thought across the ecosystem as they hired new team members.

Right now, the physics part of quantum is reasonably known. But the engineering part of actually building a computer is a big challenge. To progress this technology forward, you need very cross-disciplinary teams. You need physicists, software engineers, and FPGA [field programmable gate array] engineers. You also need to balance university experience with start-up experience and corporate experience to ensure that the solutions are innovative, scalable, and supportable.

And it's exciting to see this unique combination of talent working together to challenge what's possible. The most rewarding part about leading this team is seeing them engaging with customers and partners, being excited about their work, and having opportunities to stretch themselves.

And now that youve helped launch the Women in Quantum mentoring program, youre empowering people inside and out of the company to grow. Can you give an update on how thats going?

Sure. We introduced theWomen in Quantum mentoring programearlier this year. The idea behind creating a network of women in quantum goes back to our conversation earlier about setting up beacons to illuminate paths forward when people are feeling stuck or just needing some inspiration. When I learned about theWomen in Quantumorganization led byDenise Ruffner, I saw an opportunity to leverage Keysight's internal mentoring platform to connect mentors and mentees across the industry. I then sought out support from our Director of Diversity and Inclusion,Leslie Camino-Markowitz, and she made it happen. We have had over 400 people sign up for the program to date. It is also exciting that it keeps coming up on my calls with customers who've told me how glad they are that Keysight is sponsoring this effort to help with the talent pipeline in the quantum ecosystem.

The program is open to people of all gender identities who want to be a mentee or mentor. And it's not just mentoring on technical topics. A lot of people have called me out of the blue about career navigation. Or they have great ideas but can't get any buy-in, and they want coaching on how to improve their influencing skills. I'm always amazed when I'm speaking with mentees that sharing the simplest things can help somebody get unstuck and make them feel empowered to move forward.

Youve touched a lot of lives over the years. How do you feel when people call you inspirational?

I was surprised by how many people came up to me and said something along those lines after I received the Global Leadership Award during the Society of Women Engineers conference in Austin, TX. I have never intentionally set out to challenge the status quo or to inspire anyone. I like to challenge myself and try new things and somehow that inspires other women in the process. When that happenswhen I hear their success storiesit is special.

Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) is a leading technology company that helps enterprises, service providers and governments accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Keysight's solutions optimize networks and bring electronic products to market faster and at a lower cost with offerings from design simulation, to prototype validation, to manufacturing test, to optimization in networks and cloud environments.

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CSRWire - Refusing Limits with Liz Ruetsch - CSRwire.com

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