US-20260128872-A1 - System and method for encrypting and securing stored sensitive data based on the quantum echo effect

US20260128872A1US 20260128872 A1US20260128872 A1US 20260128872A1US-20260128872-A1

Abstract

A system includes a quantum memory configured to store sensitive data to be transmitted to a quantum computing device over an optical communication channel and a quantum processor operably coupled to the quantum memory and configured to generate pairs of entangled quantum bits (QuBits), and further encode each pair of the pairs of entangled QuBits based on the sensitive data. The pairs of entangled QuBits include the sensitive data. The quantum processor is further configured to store the pairs of entangled QuBits to a predetermined quantum storage medium configured to maintain a state of each pair of the pairs of entangled QuBits, identify, based on a change in state associated with one Qubit of a pair of the pairs of entangled QuBits, an unauthorized measurement of the pairs of entangled QuBits, and in response to identifying the unauthorized measurement, cause the pairs of entangled QuBits to be rendered unreadable.

Inventors

Adam K. King
James Siekman
Sanjay Lohar
Matthew K. Bryant
Catherine Cunningham
Takiyah Watford
Elizabeth Swanzy-Parker
Peter Nein

Assignees

BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20241023

Claims (20)

1 . A system, comprising: a quantum memory configured to store sensitive data to be transmitted to a quantum computing device over an optical communication channel; and one or more quantum processors operably coupled to the quantum memory and configured to: generate one or more pairs of entangled quantum bits (QuBits); encode each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits based at least in part on the sensitive data, wherein, upon the encoding, the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits comprises the sensitive data; store the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to a predetermined quantum storage medium configured to maintain a state of each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits; identify, based at least in part on a change in state associated with one Qubit of a pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, an unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits; and in response to identifying the unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, cause the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to be rendered unreadable.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the quantum storage medium comprises one or more of a cryogenic storage medium, a nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) center in diamond storage medium, one or more rare-earth-ion-doped crystals, one or more quantum dots (QDs), a quantum optical memory (QOM), one or more superconducting QuBits, or a controlled reversible inhomogeneous broadening of a single atomic absorption line (CRIB) storage medium.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more quantum processors are further configured to: prior to identifying the unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits: transmit, over the optical communication channel, the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to the quantum computing device, wherein the optical communication channel is configured to utilize quantum tunneling to channel the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to the quantum computing device; and identify, based at least in part on a comparison of a first set of measurements and a second set of measurements the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, a quantum cryptographic key, wherein the quantum cryptographic key is configured to be shared between the system and the quantum computing device.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more quantum processors are further configured to generate the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits by utilizing one or more of a quantum dot (QD), a high-intensity laser, or a quantum particle generator.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more quantum processors are further configured to encode each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits by utilizing a quantum modulator configured to alter a polarization or a spin of at least one QuBit of each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits comprises one or more pairs of entangled photons, one or more pairs of entangled electrons, one or more pairs of entangled neuronal impulses, or one or more pairs of entangled subatomic particles.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical communication channel comprises one or more of an optical fiber link or a free-space optical link.
8 . A method, comprising: generating one or more pairs of entangled quantum bits (QuBits); encoding each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits based at least in part on sensitive data to be transmitted to a quantum computing device over an optical communication channel, wherein, upon the encoding, the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits comprises the sensitive data; storing the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to a predetermined quantum storage medium configured to maintain a state of each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits; identifying, based at least in part on a change in state associated with one Qubit of a pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, an unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits; and in response to identifying the unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, causing the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to be rendered unreadable.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the quantum storage medium comprises one or more of a cryogenic storage medium, a nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) center in diamond storage medium, one or more rare-earth-ion-doped crystals, one or more quantum dots (QDs), a quantum optical memory (QOM), one or more superconducting QuBits, or a controlled reversible inhomogeneous broadening of a single atomic absorption line (CRIB) storage medium.
10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising: prior to identifying the unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits: transmitting, over the optical communication channel, the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to the quantum computing device, wherein the optical communication channel is configured to utilize quantum tunneling to channel the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to the quantum computing device; and identifying, based at least in part on a comparison of a first set of measurements and a second set of measurements the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, a quantum cryptographic key, wherein the quantum cryptographic key is configured to be shared between a quantum computing system and the quantum computing device.
11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein generating the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits comprises generating the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits by utilizing one or more of a quantum dot (QD), a high-intensity laser, or a quantum particle generator.
12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein encoding each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits further comprises encoding each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits by utilizing a quantum modulator configured to alter a polarization or a spin of at least one QuBit of each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits.
13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits comprises one or more pairs of entangled photons, one or more pairs of entangled electrons, one or more pairs of entangled neuronal impulses, or one or more pairs of entangled subatomic particles.
14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the optical communication channel comprises one or more of an optical fiber link or a free-space optical link.
15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more quantum processors, cause the one or more quantum processors to: generate one or more pairs of entangled quantum bits (QuBits); encode each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits based at least in part on sensitive data to be transmitted to a quantum computing device over an optical communication channel, wherein, upon the encoding, the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits comprises the sensitive data; store the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to a predetermined quantum storage medium configured to maintain a state of each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits; identify, based at least in part on a change in state associated with one Qubit of a pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, an unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits; and in response to identifying the unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, cause the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to be rendered unreadable.
16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the quantum storage medium comprises one or more of a cryogenic storage medium, a nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) center in diamond storage medium, one or more rare-earth-ion-doped crystals, one or more quantum dots (QDs), a quantum optical memory (QOM), one or more superconducting QuBits, or a controlled reversible inhomogeneous broadening of a single atomic absorption line (CRIB) storage medium.
17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more quantum processors to: prior to identifying the unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits: transmit, over the optical communication channel, the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to the quantum computing device, wherein the optical communication channel is configured to utilize quantum tunneling to channel the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to the quantum computing device; and identify, based at least in part on a comparison of a first set of measurements and a second set of measurements the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, a quantum cryptographic key, wherein the quantum cryptographic key is configured to be shared between a quantum computing system and the quantum computing device.
18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more quantum processors to generate the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits by utilizing one or more of a quantum dot (QD), a high-intensity laser, or a quantum particle generator.
19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the one or more quantum processors to encode each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits by utilizing a quantum modulator configured to alter a polarization or a spin of at least one QuBit of each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits.
20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits comprises one or more pairs of entangled photons, one or more pairs of entangled electrons, one or more pairs of entangled neuronal impulses, or one or more pairs of entangled subatomic particles.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to quantum computing, and, more specifically, to a system and method for encrypting and securing stored sensitive data based on the quantum echo effect. BACKGROUND Existing public-key encryption algorithms, such as Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA) encryption algorithms, face significant challenges in ensuring the security of communication channels against sophisticated cyberattacks and cyberthreats, such as those that may be implemented utilizing quantum computing. Specifically, existing RSA encryption algorithms rely on the assumption that factoring large prime numbers is computationally intensive for classical computing systems, and thus ensure the secure transmission and reception of sensitive data over communication channels. However, because quantum computing systems may be especially suited for “cracking” RSA encryption algorithms rather trivially (e.g., by way of Shor's algorithm), “harvest now, decrypt later” (HNDL) attacks may allow an attacker, an eavesdropper, or other adversarial user to intercept and store encrypted sensitive data until a future time at which quantum computing systems and resources are more feasible and readily available to decrypt the intercepted and harvested encrypted sensitive data. Thus, encrypted sensitive data may be susceptible to “harvest now, decrypt later” (HNDL) attacks during both the transmission and reception of encrypted sensitive data over communication channels, as well as during the storage of the encrypted sensitive data. SUMMARY The system and methods implemented by the system as disclosed in the present disclosure provide technical solutions to the technical problems discussed above by providing systems and methods for encrypting and securing stored sensitive data based on the quantum echo effect. The disclosed system and methods provide several practical applications and technical advantages. Specifically, the present embodiments improve the security and network efficiency of optical communications channels and data storage security by encrypting and securing stored sensitive data based on the quantum echo effect. Specifically, the present embodiments provide a quantum computing system that may be utilized to encode, encrypt, and securely store sensitive data to be transmitted over an optical communication channel to a predetermined quantum storage medium. For example, in accordance with the presently disclosed embodiments, the quantum computing system may generate one or more pairs of entangled quantum bits (QuBits) and encode each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits based on the sensitive data, whereupon the encoding, the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits includes the sensitive data. In particular embodiments, the quantum computing system may then store the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to a predetermined quantum storage medium that may be utilized to maintain a quantum state of each pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits over an extensive period of time. The quantum computing system may then identify, based on a detected change in a quantum state of at least one Qubit of a pair of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, an unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, and, in response to identifying the unauthorized measurement of the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits, the quantum computing system may cause the one or more pairs of entangled QuBits to be rendered unreadable. Accordingly, utilizing the quantum computing system and leveraging the principles of quantum entanglement and the quantum echo effect, the present embodiments improve the security and network efficiency of optical communications channels and data storage security by encrypting and securing stored sensitive data based on the quantum echo effect. Specifically, in accordance with the principles of quantum entanglement, QuBits interact with each other and are represented by reference to one another, regardless of whether the QuBits are spatially close together or separated spatially by a large distance. For example, at the time of measurement, if one entangled QuBit in a pair of entangled QuBits is determined to be in a “spin” state of “down,” the quantum computing system may then immediately configure the other entangled QuBit in the pair of entangled QuBits to assume the opposite “spin” state of “up,”for example. That is, in accordance with the principles of quantum entanglement, QuBits, even those that are spatially far away from each other, interact instantaneously with each other. In this way, if an attacker, an eavesdropper, or other adversarial user interacts with even just one QuBit of a pair of entangled QuBits, the other QuBit of the pair of entangled QuBits will also be instantaneously impacted by the interaction (e.g., regardless of whether the individual QuBits are spatially close together or separated spatially by a large distance). Accordingly, utilizi