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At Check Point Software Technologies, we are passionate about delivering the best security to our customers around the world. To accomplish this, we must stay ahead of cyber criminals by continuously innovating and considering new approaches for cybersecurity. One of the emerging technologies that we are following is quantum computing.

A quantum computer is a type of computer that uses quantum mechanics to process information, allowing it to solve certain problems much faster than classical computers. First suggested in 1980 by physicist Paul Benioff, quantum computing is still in the research phase. However, researchers are already starting to consider the types of applications that could run on quantum computers with the potential to transform our lives. Quantum computers will not only significantly improve the speed of resolving certain problems, but they will also solve problems that stump todays most powerful supercomputers.

Instead of using classical bits, which can only have a value of 0 or 1, quantum computers operate with data units called qubits (quantum bits). These are very different from the bits in todays computers. Thanks to the quantum mechanical phenomena, qubits have properties of entanglement and superposition that are not applicable for classical bits, which allows using qubits to run much more efficient computation.

Superposition means that each qubit simultaneously has values of 1 and 0 (and all linear combinations of them). Due to this property, the register ofnqubits represents2ndifferent values at the time. As a result, performing one operation on a quantum computer register holdingnqubits is similar to performing2noperations on the classical computer register holding n bits.

Entanglement of qubits allows researchers to correlate qubits values, as change in one qubit value results in change in the others as well. This property allows researchers to perform certain computational tasks faster, especially in the area of factorization and database searches.

Various techniques are being explored for building quantum computers, including superconducting circuits, trapped ions, and topological qubits. However, specialized software and algorithms are needed to fully utilize the unique features of quantum computing. Achieving practical quantum computing requires resolving a number of obstacles, such as error correction, scaling up the number of qubits, and integrating classical and quantum computing. Despite the challenges, many government, academic and enterprises are working on developing quantum computers and exploring their potential applications. And they have made good progress. The first quantum computer created in the mid-nineties had capacity for only two qubits.

In 2022, IBMunveileda quantum computer with 433 qubits. However, a 433 qubit computer is still insufficient for resolving complex real-life problems.Quantum computing is also gaining popularity in India, where the ecosystem of universities, developers, and students are all actively involved. Consequently, the country is emerging as a talent hub for quantum computing. Thegovernment also allocated 8000 Croretowards the National Mission on quantum technologies and applications to spur developments in quantum computing, cryptography, communications, and material science.

With quantum computing, researchers expect to be able to solve previously unsolvable problems, bringing great societal benefit to many areas, including:

However, quantum computers may also bring many new technical challenges. We are getting closer to the day when a quantum computer will be able to solve certain mathematical problems exponentially faster than classical computers. For example, a quantum computer will likely be able to break todays public key cryptosystems, which will have a major impact on the security and safety of the internet.

It is difficult to predict when quantum computing will become mainstream. It could be months or years away. However while researchers work diligently to advance quantum computing, Check Point and the larger cybersecurity industry are not sitting idle. Since 2016, the USNational Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) has led international efforts devoted to defining new cryptographic solutions that are quantum resistant. And at Check Point, we are also working diligently on the challenge of quantum resistant encryption. We will share more details in our next blog post.

About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (https://www.checkpoint.com/) is a leading provider of cyber security solutions to corporate enterprises and governments globally. Check Point Infinitys portfolio of solutions protects enterprises and public organisations from 5thgeneration cyber-attacks with an industry leading catch rate of malware, ransomware and other threats. Infinity comprises four core pillars delivering uncompromised security and generation V threat prevention across enterprise environments: Check Point Harmony, for remote users; Check Point CloudGuard, to automatically secure clouds; and Check Point Quantum, to protect network perimeters and datacenters, all controlled by the industrys most comprehensive, intuitive unified security management; Check Point Horizon, a prevention-first security operations suite. Check Point protects over 100,000 organizations of all sizes.

(This article is written by Manish Alshi, Head, Channels & Emerging Technologies, Check Point Software Technologies India & SAARC, and the views expressed in this article are his own)

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Taking a Quantum Leap in the future of computing - CXOToday.com