Insider Brief
- The Trump administration is expected to issue an executive order directing U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies to better protect quantum research from foreign espionage.
- The pending order would also task the departments of Energy and Defense with building and hosting a quantum computer for scientific research.
- The directive reflects growing concern that adversaries could steal sensitive quantum advances or use future quantum computers to break widely used encryption systems.
- Image: Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash
The Trump administration is expected to order U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies to better protect quantum research from foreign spying, a move that could tie one of the nation’s most important emerging technologies more closely to national security.
A pending executive order expected this week would direct the FBI and intelligence community to strengthen safeguards around U.S. quantum information science, according to a Nextgov/FCW article that cited four people familiar with the matter and a readout viewed by the publication. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the order had not yet been made public.
The order would also instruct the departments of Energy and Defense to build and host a quantum computer for scientific research, according to the article. The Commerce Department would be told to prepare plans for expanding federal investment in quantum computing companies.
The directive, it it’s enacted, sharpens federal focus on two linked concerns. The first is that foreign governments may try to steal sensitive quantum research from U.S. universities, companies and national laboratories. The second is that powerful quantum computers could one day break parts of today’s encryption system, exposing government secrets, financial data and military communications.
Quantum computers, which use the rules of quantum physics to process information in ways that differ from ordinary computers, are currently difficult to build and operate. But if they become powerful enough, they could solve some problems — as well as crack encryption codes — far faster than classical computers.
According to Nextgov/FCW, the order may be ready as soon as today (June 22). One person familiar with the matter said two quantum-related orders could be signed. One would focus on the broader quantum research enterprise, while the other would support the federal government’s move to post-quantum cryptography.
A New Security Push
The counterintelligence language suggests U.S. officials expect foreign adversaries, including China, to increase efforts to obtain American quantum research. Because quantum science is a relatively small field — concentrated in a limited number of universities, startups, large technology companies and national laboratories — it is both valuable, as well as exposed.
Michael McLaughlin, a former U.S. Cyber Command official who served as chief of counterintelligence and human intelligence in the Cyber National Mission Force, told Nextgov/FCW that quantum research has the traits foreign intelligence services often seek. He said the field combines high strategic value with an open research culture and a concentrated pool of talent.
McLaughlin said stronger protections could include insider-threat programs, personnel security checks, deeper reviews of vendors and suppliers, closer scrutiny of foreign investment and improved threat-sharing with universities and private companies.
The expected order would come as Washington is already trying to manage the risk posed by so-called Q-day. That term refers to the point at which a quantum computer becomes powerful enough to break widely used forms of public-key encryption. Those encryption systems protect online banking, government communications, corporate data and other sensitive information.
There is no firm deadline for Q-day with some experts placing the risk in the 2030s, but others suggesting the timing remains uncertain. The uncertainty has pushed U.S. officials to begin preparing now because encrypted data can remain sensitive for many years.
One concern is known as “harvest now, decrypt later.” In that scenario, an adversary collects encrypted communications today and stores them until a future quantum computer can decrypt them. The threat is especially serious for intelligence, defense, diplomatic and industrial data that must remain secret for decades.
Beyond Encryption
The national security value of quantum technology extends beyond code-breaking. Quantum sensors could offer new ways to detect signals, measure small changes in the environment or support navigation when GPS is unavailable. The Army said this month that its researchers had demonstrated a quantum sensor that could help soldiers detect radio signals and better identify their direction.
Advanced quantum computers could also help scientists model materials, chemistry and other complex systems. That is one reason the expected order would ask the Energy and Defense departments to build and host a quantum computer for scientific discovery, according to Nextgov/FCW.
Such a machine could support federal research while giving the government a more direct role in shaping the technology’s development. It could also provide a test bed for scientific and national security applications that are difficult to pursue on early commercial systems alone.
The move would fit into a broader federal effort that began during Trump’s first term. In 2018, Trump signed the National Quantum Initiative Act, which helped organize U.S. quantum research across federal agencies. Key parts of that law lapsed in 2023, and lawmakers have been considering reauthorization.
The expected order may also bolster private investors and quantum companies. Federal backing could help emerging technologies move from laboratory research to practical use. For quantum computing firms, the order would suggest that Washington sees the industry not only as a scientific priority, but also as a strategic asset.
The order also would add pressure on agencies to coordinate across research, security and industrial policy. Quantum technology sits at the intersection of all three. It depends on open science, but it may also create tools with military and intelligence value. It requires private-sector investment, but its most sensitive uses may involve government missions.
That tension is likely to shape the next phase of U.S. quantum policy. The government wants to speed discovery and commercial development. At the same time, officials are preparing for a world in which quantum advances could alter cybersecurity, intelligence collection and strategic competition.
If signed as expected, the order would mark another step in that shift. It would place quantum research more directly under the watch of the national security state, while also pushing federal agencies to help build the machines that could define the field’s future.
