Quantum information: Opportunities and challenges or "What's this quantum stuff and what does it have to do with cyber security?"

Modern society is shaped by the ability to transmit, manipulate, and store large amounts of information. Although we tend to think of information as abstract, information is physical, and computing is a physical process. How then should we understand information in a quantum world, in which physical systems may exist in multiple states at once and are altered by the very act of observation? This question has evolved into an exciting new field of research called Quantum Information (QI). QI challenges many accepted rules and practices in computer science. For example, a quantum computer would turn certain "hard" problems into "soft" problems, and would render common computationally-secure encryption methods (such as RSA) insecure. At the same time, quantum communication would provide an unprecedented kind of intrinsic information security at the level of the smallest physical objects used to store or transmit the information. This talk provides a general introduction to the subject of quantum information and its relevance to cyber security. In the first part, two of the stranger aspects of quantum physics - namely, superposition and uncertainty - are explained, along with their relation to the concept of information. These ideas are illustrated with a few examples: quantum ID cards, quantum key distribution, and Grover's quantum search algorithm. The classic man-in-the-middle attack is illustrated in regards to secret sharing (e.g., key exchange) to illustrate how QI methods can be used to thwart such threats. The state-of-the-art in quantum computing and communication hardware is then discussed, along with the daunting technological challenges that must be overcome. Relevant experimental and theoretical efforts at ORNL are highlighted. The talk concludes with speculations on the short-and long-term impact of quantum information on cyber security.