The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), DBS, HSBC, OCBC, UOB, SPTel and SpeQtral today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to embark on quantum security collaboration and study the application of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) in financial services. QKD can help financial institutions (FIs) protect the exchange of cryptographic keys to address the cybersecurity threats posed by quantum computing.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has finalized its principal set of encryption algorithms designed to withstand cyberattacks from a quantum computer.

On July 11, 2024, the Quad Investors Network’s (QUIN) Quantum Center of Excellence published its final report detailing the quantum capabilities of the Quad nations. The report, entitled “Quantum Science & Technology in the QUAD Nations: Landscape and Opportunities,” describes the top challenges each country faces in Quantum Sciences, identifies areas for further exploration and collaboration, and lays out specific actions the QUIN can take to catalyze further advancements in areas of quantum computing, communications, and sensing amongst the Quad Nations.

Five new quantum research hubs backed by over £100 million of government funding will deliver breakthroughs in healthcare, cybersecurity and transport.

EuroQCI is a European project of the Digital Europe Program (DEP) funding national projects for EU secure Quantum Communication Infrastructure.The national Dutch program is called QCINed and started in 2023 with a volume of almost 10 Mio Eur co-funded by the EU Commission. For 30 months the partners are committed to facilitating and deploying the Dutch Quantum network.

As post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms become more complex, there is a growing demand to accelerate them in hardware. However, this acceleration can also introduce new vulnerabilities. In fact, PQC hardware accelerators can be backdoored by malicious actors located in the chip supply chain, allowing them to access sensitive information and compromise the security of the system.To combat this threat, researchers propose a sophisticated reverse engineering algorithm called REPQC, which can confidently identify hashing operations within the PQC accelerator. This algorithm allows adversaries to insert malicious logic into the accelerator, increasing its layout density by as little as 0.01 without impacting performance or power consumption.

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced call for proposals, titled "Quantum Standardization and Testing Labs," and has invited submissions from Indian academic institutions or R&D institutions, either individually or in partnership. The main objective is to accelerate research and development in quantum technologies, ensuring the interoperability, reliability, and security of quantum communication systems. These labs will serve as innovation hubs, uniting quantum technology developers, testing equipment manufacturers, and academic researchers to explore and harness the full potential of quantum technologies for the benefit of all citizens.

BeQCI, the consortium charged with deploying the first ever open quantum communication infrastructure in Belgium, has reached an important milestone in its Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) mission. Belnet, the Belgian National Research Network, has successfully set up the required infrastructure and realized the first QKD links together with imec and UGent. This is a big step in the prestigious 30-month quantum cryptography project, which aims to achieve what was up until now impossible: a way to transmit data 100% safe and uninterceptably, using quantum physics principles. BeQCI is funded by the EU and the Belgian Science Policy Office.

President Xi Jinping set out a sweeping vision on Monday to build China into a strong nation in science and technology by 2035, calling for stronger steps to bolster the nation's self-reliance drive while enhancing openness and global cooperation.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is providing over 4.47 million euros in funding for the joint project "QUAntenkommunikation netzweRke Kompetenz für die gesellSchaft" (QUARKS) coordinated by Prof. Frank Fitzek - holder of the Deutsche Telekom Chair of Communication Networks and spokesperson for the Cluster of Excellence "Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop" (CeTI) - at the TUD Dresden University of Technology (TUD).