Workshop on Quantum Cryptography:

The Commercialization Future of QKD and Physics Based Security (“PBS”)

May 14, 2008, 2:30 - 6:00 PM

“A Flat World Requires Quantum Leaps”

“Anyone who considers arithmetical methods of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin.” John Von Neumann

“Mary had a little key - she kept it in escrow,

and every thing that Mary said, the feds were sure to know.”  Sam Simpson

The incumbent computer network security infrastructure and architectures are severely under attack as the popular press, technical literature and academia consistently point out. A paradigm shift of enormous implications is required within a short timeframe…or it will be thrust upon us by external, market forces. Will major incumbent firms be blind-sided? Has it already happened?

 “2015 is now”… “Parallel processing and quantum computing have tremendous implications for cryptography”  CIA, 2007

“Consumer QKD will be ‘Cheap and Cheerful’ within 5 years”  Hewlett Packard, 2007

 "The intelligence community has come to the recognition that China and other foreign governments have free run of American computer networks" September, 2007

Quantum cryptography solutions have matured dramatically over the past 20 years. Can they enhance or replace algorithms and layers of complex “holey” entry points with unbreakable physics simply implemented? Can they represent a more sophisticated and relevant intrusion detection device/method?  What are the evolving network security standards suggesting? How prevalent and dangerous are taps and side channel attacks – in the US and internationally? When are the  enabling technologies ready? In 1997 it was cost effective WDM components that enabled broadband communications and the Internet; for QKD the high speed APD-single photon counter   is the  primary enabler. How do these systems get integrated into existing infrastructure and policy frameworks? What are the leading users in the  financial and national security communities doing? Is it cost justified? The quantum wave has begun…when does it flow into the mainstream?

Join us to explore these questions and opportunities as we bring together a unique mix of expertise from (1) classical and incumbent security fields, (2) the leading world experts in physics-based approaches, (3)  users from government and commercial systems, (4) relevant players in the standards process.

Among our speakers are experts from industry and academia. Including executives from AT&T, Boeing, Raytheon, Safenet, Adva Optical Networking, Telcordia, former Morgan Stanley and US Army network security experts, Aspect Labs - a leading government security compliance firm; innovative technology leaders such as MagiQ, Princeton Lightwave, id Quantique, and NuCrypt; and world experts on security in academia from MIT, University of Geneva and Northwestern University.

“Quantum key distribution is a major paradigm shift in the development of cryptography," said Burt Kaliski, Chief Scientist of RSA Laboratories, a unit of EMC Corporation. "The ability to detect eavesdropping on a communications link with absolute certainty is remarkable, and conventional and quantum cryptography are a powerful combination in making secure communications a reality.” “…the better tools we have, the more prepared we'll be.”