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With PQC deadlines looming, ‘Preparation is not optional, and it is not a future IT problem’
Network operators are, to varying degrees, working to make their networks quantum-safe. This primarily involves the transition to new post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms for data encryption, and quantum key distribution (QKD) to secure vital wired links between data centers, for instance. But to fully understand the complexity, scope and urgency of quantum readiness, it’s useful to expand the aperture to include the wider world of IT infrastructure.
While PQC wasn’t the headline during the recent Dell Technologies World, it certainly came up, including during a day two keynote and in breakout media and analyst sessions. Rick Sanchez, a Dell Fellow and vice president for security in the Client Solutions Group, stressed the importance of harvest now, decrypt later, and noted that Dell has integrated post-quantum security features within its latest PCs.
In a blog post on the subject, Sanchez made clear that quantum-safe IT systems, including endpoints like PCs, is not a quick, easy migration. “PQC readiness will require years of planning, inventory, testing and coordinated upgrades across firmware, devices, applications and networks…In other words: preparation is not optional, and it is not a future IT problem.”
He also pointed out forthcoming deadlines, particularly CNSA 2.0 which, among other requirements, lays out a Jan. 1, 2027, deadline for compliance for technologies used by the NSA. The broader read here is that for companies that want to sell tech to the federal government, quantum-ready security mechanisms will be a pre-requisite sooner rather than later.
“For many enterprises,” Sanchez wrote, “this means the window to modernize cryptographic foundations — and the infrastructure that relies on them — can be deceptively shorter than a typical hardware refresh cycle.” His advice to those enterprises was two-fold: look to your vendors (like Dell) for support, and understand that “cryptography is everywhere.”
Hybrid quantum/classical computing systems
Moving beyond very present quantum-safe security innovations, Dell representatives and partners painted a cohesive picture of how quantum computing would initially come to market: quantum processing units (QPUs) will be integrated into classical HPC systems. So QPUs will sit alongside CPUs, GPUs and other types of accelerators with classical infrastructure handling orchestration, optimization, control and error correction.
Speaking of error correction and hybrid quantum/classical computing systems, Dell and NVIDIA completed some interesting work earlier this year. The two companies collaborated to validate sub-four microsecond latency between Dell PowerEdge servers and FPGAs using NVIDIA’s NVQLink platform.
Dell’s Burns Healy, quantum infrastructure lead, explained the importance of hitting that latency threshold in a blog post: “For quantum processors to deliver on their promise, they need classical computing systems that can respond in microseconds, not milliseconds (think 1,000 times faster). If they miss that window, qubits decohere, error correction fails and the quantum advantage disappears. Dell, with NVIDIA, just proved that it can consistently hit that window.”
During Dell Technologies World, Healy said the near-term goal here is to decrease friction to adoption by creating a transitory path to delivering quantum capabilities within HPC infrastructure.
During a separate Q&A session, Dell CTO John Roese was asked about timing on useful quantum computing. He said that was a $1,000,000,000 question, and pointed out a hybrid quantum/classical system showcased in the exhibit space. He noted a “convergence around 2029” and said, “We’re…working through the engineering challenge.”
