China’s advanced quantum computer fortifies defenses against attacks
Origin Wukong, China’s cutting-edge superconducting quantum computer, has taken a step forward in its defense against potential attacks by other quantum systems.
According to an official Chinese outlet, a powerful “anti-quantum attack shield” was installed in the independently developed computer.
Earlier this year, Origin Wukong was opened up to global users. Amid a heated quantum computing race between the US, Canada, and China, the move came as a surprise, given US quantum computers are not open to users in China.
The official Science and Technology Daily reports that the new encryption technology installed will ensure the security of Origin Wukong’s operational data. These new encryption methods are designed to replace conventional public-key cryptography systems.
Conventional systems, such as RSA cryptography, for instance, rely on a public-private key pair.
The private key, two large prime numbers generated by an algorithm in RSA’s case, is then multiplied and used along with an exponent to create a public key. Any information encrypted by this public key can only be decrypted by the private key.
These systems’ security depends on the time taken to computationally figure out the private key to be prohibitively large. However, with the advent of quantum computing, the time required is no longer “unrealistic.”
Cue: post-quantum encryption, methods designed to resist unauthorized decryption by quantum computers by relying on different mathematical problems difficult for both conventional and quantum computers. Some approaches being explored include lattice-based cryptography and multivariate cryptography.
China’s quantum marvel
According to the South China Morning Post, Dou Menghan, the deputy director of the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Centre, said that the “anti-quantum attack shield” was developed by Origin Quantum who also developed Origin Wukong.
He further emphasized that the development represented “an important exploration of the application of new data security technologies in China.”
The Origin Wukong, named after the legendary mythological Monkey King, is the nation’s latest and most advanced iteration of superconducting quantum computers. The third-generation machine, powered by a 72-qubit home-grown superconducting quantum chip, is a significant step up from its predecessors.
In 2020, Origin launched its first superconducting quantum computer, followed by the delivery of the 24-qubit Wuyuan second-generation machine in 2021. This made China the third country, after Canada and the United States, capable of delivering a complete quantum computing system.
Wukong’s quantum advantage
Quantum computers hold the promise of significantly faster and more powerful computation compared to traditional computers. Unlike their classical binary counterparts, quantum bits, or qubits, can represent zero, one, or both simultaneously.
However, with this capability comes a unique set of challenges. The subatomic particles at the heart of quantum computing are notoriously fragile, and short-lived. Additionally, they are prone to errors if exposed to even minor disturbances from the surrounding environment.
The Wukong chip operates at temperatures close to “absolute zero,” or minus 273.15 degrees Celsius to mitigate these issues. Furthermore, the chip is stored in a special fridge before being installed in a vacuum environment for operation.
Source: Interesting Engineering
China’s advanced quantum computer fortifies defenses against attacks