In addition to our own cybersecurity research and development, part of our work at QuintessenceLabs involves contributing to the industry by supporting advancements and standards that continue to improve data security. This week, we announced our support for the Quantum Alliance Initiative’s proposed global standards benefiting the advancement of quantum key distribution (QKD) and quantum random number generators (QRNG). QuintessenceLabs is part of the Initiative, which was formed by the Hudson Institute and over a dozen other cybersecurity companies to build a standards framework that allows organizations to more effectively adopt quantum cybersecurity.

When moving towards large-scale deployments of such technology, standards make for crucial guidance; therefore, these recommendations are a big step forward. The Initiative agreed upon the proposed standards at a meeting last December, and are to be submitted to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) on 7 January for discussion at the Telecommunication Standardization Section (ITU-T) meeting in Geneva later this month.

Ultimately, the proposed recommendations aim to facilitate and accelerate the developments of QKD and QRNG. They are the first ever standards for these technologies and will be adopted voluntarily by the participating organizations, including QuintessenceLabs.

2019 is an exciting year for technology, and the support of these recommendations marks just one way that we will support industry adopting the higher levels of cybersecurity we all need to keep our data safe.