Honeywell-sponsored company to sell Reuters’ super secure quantum encryption key

Author: Jane Lanhee Lee

(Reuters) – Quantum (NASDAQ 🙂 Cambridge-based computer software company Quantum said on Tuesday it had launched a platform to create super-secure cryptographic keys and sell them as commercial products.

The UK-based startup Quantinuum was wholly owned by Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ :), a 54% stake in a quantum computer hardware and software company.

Cambridge Quantum uses a quantum computer to create a particularly random encryption key, cybersecurity chief Duncan Jones said in an interview with Reuters.

Quantum computers can create a random encryption key than conventional computers, which makes them more secure and weaker in the face of cyber attacks, he said.

Cambridge Quantum said it will target its Quantum Origin service to financial services and cybersecurity companies before expanding to other high-priority sectors such as telecommunications, energy, manufacturing, defense and government.

“A few years ago we were working on a method to use the special features of quantum computers effectively and efficiently to provide our customers with defense against adversaries and criminals, when quantum computers predominate now and in the future.” Ilyas Khan, CEO of Quantinuum and founder of Cambridge Quantum, said in a statement.

“Quantum Origin gives us the ability to be free from the most sophisticated and powerful threats today, as well as from the threats of quantum computers in the future.”

Quantum computers are based on quantum bits or qubits that can be set to one and zero at the same time, and create more exponential paths than conventional computers that have one or zero bits. Researchers believe that quantum computers can run millions of times faster than today’s advanced supercomputers.