US Army Makes $2M Investment in Quantum-Resilient Cybersecurity

The U.S. Army has awarded post-quantum cybersecurity company QuSecure a $2 million contract to develop quantum-resilient software solutions.

QuSecure said it intends to use the funds to conduct further research on quantum-resilient technologies and encryption solutions for use in battle-ready tactical edge and IoT devices.

The award comes on the back of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, which authorized a $110 billion, five-year budget for research into emerging technologies including quantum computing and post-quantum cryptography (PQC).

This was bolstered by the Biden administration signing the  Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act into law in December 2022, which required federal government agencies to use quantum decryption-resistant technology. 

Last July, the U.S. government tested the world’s first-ever post-quantum encryption communication over a government network using QuSecure technology. This resulted in the award of a federal government procurement contract for QuSecure’s PQC solutions.

“Following winning our U.S. Air Force SBIR Phase III award last Fall, QuSecure is proud to be a part of the Army’s march toward a more cybersecure future,” said QuSecure head of engineering Aaron Moore.“This award from the army recognizes QuSecure’s ability to help enhance the combat fighting capabilities that modern warfare necessitates.”

This article first appeared in IoT World Today's sister publication Enter Quantum.