CyberSkills lecturer Dr Hazel Murray travelled to the US Centre for Quantum Networks to talk about her work on quantum cryptography for the networks of the future. 

Quantum computing has the power to break modern cryptography, disrupting online banking, shopping, data storage and communications. However, it also has the power to support stronger more resistant technologies.

Leading quantum computing and communications researchers from the United States, Ireland and Northern Ireland all attended the week long retreat. It began with a meeting of the US-Ireland CoQREATE (Convergent Quantum REsearch Alliance in TElecommunications) research partnership. This partnership between the NSF-funded ERC Center for Quantum Networks (CQN), the Ireland-based CONNECT Center and the Northern Ireland based QTeQ combines expertise to undertake the challenge of building a quantum internet.

Dr Murray spoke about her work leveraging the power of quantum mechanics to build quantum-cryptography protocols. She leads an Irish research collaboration between Munster Technological University, Maynooth University, and the Walton Institute at SETU working on authentication and banking protocols based on the security offered by quantum communication complexity.

The rest of the week showcased work taking place at the US Centre for Quantum Networks and fostered international collaborations on the topic of quantum communications. CQN is led by the University of Arizona and includes Harvard, MIT, and Yale as core university partners, with six other universities also contributing research: BYU, University of Chicago, Howard University, University of Oregon, University of Massachusetts (Amherst), and Northern Arizona University. CQN is developing the entire technology stack to reliably carry quantum data across the globe.

Dr Murray is part of the CONNECT Research Centre which is driving Ireland’s efforts on quantum computing. CONNECT hosts the only Irish Quantum Security Testbed; is building the first large scale Irish QKD network through a successful €10 million bid to the EuroQCI initiative; is the Irish hub for the annual Pan-European Quantum Internet Hackathon; and actively engages with industry to collaboratively drive quantum progress.

If you have any questions or would like to engage in an industry-academic collaboration, please contact hazel.murray AT mtu.ie