Quantum-secured communications for Canada (QSC2)

在过去的十年里，加拿大已经变得非常容易受到网络攻击，这些攻击破坏了国家安全、经济繁荣和公民的生活方式。如今，攻击主要集中在存储的信息上。然而，目前为保护传输中的信息而创建的公钥密码系统依赖于关于计算复杂性的未经证实的假设——它们容易受到算法进步和更好的经典计算机技术的影响，并且随着量子计算机的出现将变得不安全。这将导致攻击策略转向传输中的数据。由于贸易限制或可能的“后门”信息泄露，加拿大无法依赖于获取外国加密技术，因此开发“加拿大制造”的替代加密系统势在必行。量子密钥分发（QKD）就是这样一种替代方案。除了提供无法破坏的通信安全（即使是量子计算机）之外，它的发展也构成了构建量子计算机网络的第一步，这使得量子计算机能够最大限度地从这些计算机的卓越计算能力中受益。这包括寻找“大海捞针”（例如，在未分类的数据库中找到特定条目），用于机器学习（例如，用于分析大数据），以及用于理解化学反应动力学（例如，创造更好的药品和石油产品）。基于来自卡尔加里大学、滑铁卢大学和渥太华大学的国际领先学者的专业知识，并与国家研究委员会、卡尔加里市和加拿大政府部门通信安全机构密切合作，拟议的研究将在短期内允许评估QKD以确保敏感数据的加密。从长远来看，它将导致一个海岸到海岸的量子网络，除了QKD之外，还将允许量子计算机之间的连接。

During the past decade, Canada has become deeply vulnerable to cyber attacks that undermine national security, economic prosperity, and the way of life of its citizens. Today, attacks mostly focus on stored information. Yet, current public key cryptosystems, created to protect information in transit, rely on unproven assumptions about computational complexity - they are susceptible to algorithmic advances and better classical computer technology, and will become insecure with the advent of the quantum computer. This will lead to a shift in attack strategy towards data in transmission. As Canada cannot rely on acquiring foreign encryption technology due to trade restrictions or possible "backdoor" information leakage, it is imperative to develop alternative cryptosystems "Made-in-Canada". Quantum key distribution (QKD) is such an alternative. In addition to providing communication security that cannot be broken (not even by a quantum computer), its development also constitutes a first step towards building quantum computer networks, which allow benefiting maximally from such computers' superior computing power. This includes finding 'a needle in a haystack' (e.g. a specific entry in an unsorted database), for machine learning (e.g. for analyzing big data), and for understanding chemical reaction dynamics (e.g. to create better pharmaceuticals and petroleum products). Building on the expertise of internationally leading academics from the Universities of Calgary, Waterloo and Ottawa, and in close collaboration with the National Research Council, the City of Calgary and the Communications Security Establishment - a Government of Canada Department - the proposed research will, in the short term, allow the assessment of QKD for securing the encryption of sensitive data. In the long term, it will lead to a coast-to-coast quantum network that, in addition to QKD, will allow connections to and between quantum computers.