Expert Insight
According to Dr Itan Barmes, a cryptography expert at Deloitte Cyber Risk Services in the Netherlands, “an adversary with a large quantum computer today would be able to break practically all asymmetric cryptography (digital certificates, key exchange etc.) and significantly reduce the security of symmetric encryption (3DES, AES)”. And though he went on to say that quantum computers ‘are still not developed enough’ to successfully achieve such results, within a decade they will have the ability to cause major devastation to network systems. It’s all heart-racing stuff, for sure, yet — with enough foresight and preparedness — the threat doesn’t have to be a threat at all.
Just to realize that the future is going to be quantum should be enough for industries and individual companies to take stock of the danger and start to make provisions now.
Already we can witness startups coming onto the nascent quantum technologies market offering expertise and insight into the threat while also providing technical solutions.
Arqit, BlakFX, Cambridge Space Technologies, Crypta Labs, Isara Corporation, Post-Quantum, and Qusecure are just a handful of the more than two dozen on the market that specializes in quantum security issues like quantum key distribution (QKD) available to look at on The Quantum Insider (TQI), TQD’s new data platform.
NXM Labs, too, ‘a leader in autonomous security software and insurance products designed to safeguard devices and protect personal privacy’, has its own unique approach to one of the technologies most intransigent problems.
NXM Labs
Founded in San Francisco, in 2016, NXM is developing its own proprietary platform based on arm chips that offer next-gen
‘security and cyber warranty solutions for brand manufacturers, guaranteeing their customers that the products they purchase are certified safe.’
The automation process the startup offers is about mitigating the mistakes often made by humans. People errors are the all-too-common denominator of cybersecurity breaches. NXM’s software solution solves this by breaking up the machine-generated data into manageable, bit-sized specific information which gives the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) the choice to store data in compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
The novel advantage of NXM’s solution is that, god forbid a security breach ever occurs, the system can reboot a device’s encryption keys. This authorizes the computer/device the breach occurred on to continue from where it left off with the security restored. This chameleon-like, adaptable technology will certainly be required when quantum algorithms become more potent, allowing for security threats to be stopped in their tracks.
“NXM Autonomous Security is about simplifying and automating security to enable machines to defend themselves. It frees OEMs to focus their resources on building new products secure in the knowledge that their brand reputation and customer’s privacy are protected.”
— Scott Rankine, NXM CEO
This granular focus on a certain problem, in a specific industry, while being fully cognizant of the quantum threat, is a stroke of genius.
So let’s meet the person responsible for all this ingenuity, shall we?
A de facto entrepreneur and Napoleon of business strategy, NMX’s founder and CEO Scott Rankin — whose track record of developing startups that build first-rate teams, services and products to die for — is also an expert in SaaS, consumer software, IoT, cybersecurity, as well as in B2C, B2B, and the European CE conformity with health, safety, environmental protection standards, mobile, and transportation sectors.
With $8.2M in Seed funding over four rounds to date helping the startup with its special IP, NMX’s leadership team — not to mention its group of advisors — is sure to bring the necessary skills needed to take the company to success. And as quantum technology advances to new heights, it will be them and others with quantum-ready solutions that have the scope and ability to rise to the occasion, defending the internet against the menace.
For more market insights, check out our latest quantum computing news here.
