In this episode of The Quantum Spin by HKA, host Veronica Combs discusses the intersections of quantum technology and cybersecurity with Chuck Brooks, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the president of Brooks Consulting International. Chuck discusses how the evolution of technology, particularly AI and quantum computing, has dramatically transformed cybersecurity. The conversation also touches on the role of CISOs, the integration of new technologies, and the importance of ongoing education and adaptation in the face of rapidly changing technologies.
00:00 Introduction to Quantum Spin Podcast 00:34 Guest Introduction: Chuck Brooks 00:46 Chuck Brooks’ Career Journey 02:09 Evolution of Cybersecurity 02:47 Challenges for CISOs 04:27 Quantum Computing and Cybersecurity 07:43 Future of Quantum and AI 10:51 Disruptive Technologies in Organizations 15:15 AI in Academia and Professional Use 17:06 Effective Communication on LinkedIn 18:23 Conclusion and Podcast Information.
Chuck Brooks serves as President of Brooks Consulting International with over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, emerging technologies, marketing, business development, and government relations. He also is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University in the Cyber Risk Management Program, where he teaches graduate courses on risk management, homeland security, and cybersecurity.
This accomplishment breaks the previous record of 48 qubits set by Jülich scientists in 2019 on Japan’s K computer. The new result highlights the extraordinary capabilities of JUPITER and provides a powerful testbed for exploring and validating quantum algorithms.
Simulating quantum computers is essential for advancing future quantum technologies. These simulations let researchers check experimental findings and experiment with new algorithmic approaches long before quantum hardware becomes advanced enough to run them directly. Key examples include the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE), which can analyze molecules and materials, and the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA), used to improve decision-making in fields such as logistics, finance, and artificial intelligence.
Recreating a quantum computer on conventional systems is extremely demanding. As the number of qubits grows, the number of possible quantum states rises at an exponential rate. Each added qubit doubles the amount of computing power and memory required.
Although a typical laptop can still simulate around 30 qubits, reaching 50 qubits requires about 2 petabytes of memory, which is roughly two million gigabytes. ‘Only the world’s largest supercomputers currently offer that much,’ says Prof. Kristel Michielsen, Director at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre. ‘This use case illustrates how closely progress in high-performance computing and quantum research are intertwined today.’
The simulation replicates the intricate quantum physics of a real processor in full detail. Every operation – such as applying a quantum gate – affects more than 2 quadrillion complex numerical values, a ‘2’ with 15 zeros. These values must be synchronized across thousands of computing nodes in order to precisely replicate the functioning of a real quantum processor.
The JUPITER supercomputer set a new milestone by simulating 50 qubits. New memory and compression innovations made this breakthrough possible. A team from the Jülich Supercomputing Centre, working with NVIDIA specialists, has achieved a major milestone in quantum research. For the first time, they successfully simulated a universal quantum computer with 50 qubits, using JUPITER, Europe’s first exascale supercomputer, which began operation at Forschungszentrum Jülich in September.
The quantum world is famously weird—a single particle can be in two places at once, its properties are undefined until they are measured, and the very act of measuring a quantum system changes everything. But according to new research published in Physical Review Letters, the quantum world is even stranger than previously thought.
What happens at the quantum level is in stark contrast to the classical world (what we see every day), where objects have definite properties whether or not we look at them, and observing them doesn’t change their nature. To see whether any system is behaving classically, scientists use a mathematical test called the Leggett-Garg inequality (LGI). Classical systems always obey the LGI limit while quantum systems violate it, proving they are non-classical.
Machine learning models called convolutional neural networks (CNNs) power technologies like image recognition and language translation. A quantum counterpart—known as a quantum convolutional neural network (QCNN)—could process information more efficiently by using quantum states instead of classical bits.
Photons are fast, stable, and easy to manipulate on chips, making photonic systems a promising platform for QCNNs. However, photonic circuits typically behave linearly, limiting the flexible operations that neural networks need.
As part of the QuNET project, researchers have demonstrated how quantum key distribution works reliably via hybrid and mobile channels. The results are milestones for sovereign, quantum-secured communication in Germany and have been published in the New Journal of Physics.
Quantum communication is considered a crucial technology for long-term data security and thus also for technological sovereignty in Germany and Europe. At its core is the distribution of secure cryptographic keys based on quantum physical processes—quantum key distribution (QKD).
QKD will not only be important for highly secure communication in government agencies, the military, and businesses, but will also help protect the data we use in our daily lives.
Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a new approach to applying thermodynamics to microscopic quantum systems.
In 1798, the officer and physicist Benjamin Thompson (a.k.a. Count Rumford) observed the drilling of cannon barrels in Munich and concluded that heat is not a substance but can be created in unlimited amounts by mechanical friction.
Rumford determined the amount of heat generated by immersing the cannon barrels in water and measuring how long it took the water to reach boiling. Based on such experiments, thermodynamics was developed in the 19th century. Initially, it was at the service of the Industrial Revolution and explained, physically, for instance, how heat can be efficiently converted into useful work in steam engines.
