Atom Computing: A Quantum Computing Startup That Believes It Can Ultimately Win The Qubit Race – Forbes

Atom Computing

Atom Computing describes itself as a company obsessed with building the worlds most scalable quantum computers out of optically trapped neutral atoms. The companyrecently revealed it had spent the past two years secretly building a quantum computer using Strontium atoms as its units of computation.

Headquartered in Berkeley, California, Benjamin Bloom and Jonathan King founded the company in 2018 with $5M in seed funds. Bloom received his PhD in physics from the University of Colorado, while King received a PhD in chemical engineering from California Berkeley.

Atom Computing received $15M in Series A funding from investorsVenrock, Innovation Endeavors, and Prelude Ventures earlier this year. The company also received three grants from the National Science Foundation.

Atom Staff

Rob Hays, a former Intel, and Lenovo executive was recently named CEO of the company. Atom Computingsstaff of quantum physicists and design engineers fully complements quantum-related disciplines and applications.This month Atom Computing signaled its continued momentum by adding twoquantum veterans to key positions within the company:

Qubit technologies

While traditional computers use magnetic bits to represent a one or a zero for computation, quantum computers usequantum bits or qubits to represent a one or a zero or simultaneously any number in between.

Todays quantum computers use several different technologies for qubits. But regardless of the technology, a common requirement for all quantum computing qubits is that it must be scalable, high quality, and capable of fast quantum interaction with each other.

IBM uses superconducting qubits on its huge fleet of about twenty quantum computers. Although Amazon doesnt yet have a quantum computer, it plans to build one using superconducting hardware. Honeywell and IonQ both use trapped-ion qubits made from a rare earth metal called ytterbium. In contrast, Psi Quantum and Xanadu use photons of light.

Atom computing chose to use different technology -nuclear-spin qubits made from neutral atoms.Phoenix, the name of Atoms first-generation, gate-based quantum computer platform, uses 100 optically trapped qubits.

Atom Computings quantum platform

First-Generation Quantum Computer, Phoenix, Berkeley,

The Phoenix platform uses a specific type of nuclear-spin qubits created from an isotope of Strontium, a naturally occurring element. Strontium is a neutral atom. At the atomic level, neutral atoms have equal numbers of protons and electrons. However, isotopes of Strontium have varying numbers of neutrons. These differences in neutrons produce different energy levels in the atom. Atom Computing uses the isotope Strontium-87 and takes advantage of its unique energy levels to create spin qubits.

Qubits need to remain in a quantum state long enough to complete computations. The length of time that a qubit can retain its quantum state is its coherence time. Since Atom Computings neutral atom qubits are natural rather than manufactured, no adjustments are needed to compensate for differences between qubits. That contributes to its stability and relatively long coherence time in a range greater than 40 seconds compared to a millisecond for superconducting or a few seconds for ion-trapping systems. Moreover, a neutral atom has little affinity for other atoms, making the qubits less susceptible to noise.

Neutral atom qubits offer many advantages that make them suitable for quantum computing. Here are just a few:

How neutral atom quantum processors work

Atom Computing

The Phoenix quantum platform uses lasers as proxies for high-precision, wireless control of the Strontium-87 qubits. Atoms are trapped in a vacuum chamber using optical tweezers controlledby lasers at very specific wavelengths, creatingan array of highly stable qubits captured in free space.

First, a beam of hot strontium moves the atoms into the vacuum chamber. Next, multiple lasers bombard each atom with photons to slow their momentum to a near motionless state, causing its temperature to fall to near absolute zero. This process is called laser cooling and it eliminates the requirement for cryogenics and makes it easier to scale qubits.

Then, optical tweezers are formed in a glass vacuum chamber, where qubits are assembled and optically trapped in an array. One advantage of neutral atoms is that the processors array is not limited to any specific shape, and it can be either 2D or 3D. Additional lasers create a quantum interaction between the atoms (called entanglement) in preparation for the actual computation. After initial quantum states are set and circuits are established, then the computation is performed.

The heart of Phoenix, showing where the Atom Computings qubits entangle. (First-Generation Quantum ... [+] Computer, Phoenix - Berkeley, California)

Going forward

Atom Computing is working with several technology partners. It is also running tests with a small number of undisclosed customers. The Series A funding has allowed it to expand its research and begin working on the second generation of its quantum platform. Its a good sign that Rob Hays, CEO, believes Atom Computing will begin generating revenue in mid-2023.

Atom Computing is a young and aggressive company with promising technology. I spoke with Denise Ruffner shortly after she joined Atom. Her remarks seem to reflect the optimism of the entire company:

"I am joining the dream team - a dynamic CEO with experience in computer development and sales, including an incredible Chief Product Officer, as well as a great scientific team. I am amazed at how many corporations have already reached out to us to try our hardware. This is a team to bet on."

Analyst notes

Note: Moor Insights & Strategy writers and editors may have contributed to this article.

Moor Insights & Strategy, like all research and tech industry analyst firms, provides or has provided paid services to technology companies. These services include research, analysis, advising, consulting, benchmarking, acquisition matchmaking, or speaking sponsorships. The company has had or currently has paid business relationships with 88,A10 Networks,Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon,Ambient Scientific,AnutaNetworks,Applied Micro,Apstra,Arm, Aruba Networks (now HPE), AT&T, AWS, A-10 Strategies,Bitfusion, Blaize, Box, Broadcom, Calix, Cisco Systems, Clear Software, Cloudera,Clumio, Cognitive Systems, CompuCom,CyberArk,Dell, Dell EMC, Dell Technologies, Diablo Technologies,Dialogue Group,Digital Optics,DreamiumLabs, Echelon, Ericsson, Extreme Networks, Flex, Foxconn, Frame (now VMware), Fujitsu, Gen Z Consortium, Glue Networks, GlobalFoundries, Revolve (now Google), Google Cloud,Graphcore,Groq,Hiregenics,HP Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Honeywell, Huawei Technologies, IBM,IonVR,Inseego, Infosys,Infiot,Intel, Interdigital, Jabil Circuit, Konica Minolta, Lattice Semiconductor, Lenovo,Linux Foundation,Luminar,MapBox, Marvell Technology,Mavenir, Marseille Inc, Mayfair Equity, Meraki (Cisco),Mesophere, Microsoft, Mojo Networks, National Instruments, NetApp, Nightwatch, NOKIA (Alcatel-Lucent), Nortek,Novumind, NVIDIA,Nutanix,Nuvia (now Qualcomm), ON Semiconductor, ONUG, OpenStack Foundation, Oracle, Panasas,Peraso, Pexip, Pixelworks, Plume Design, Poly (formerly Plantronics),Portworx, Pure Storage, Qualcomm, Rackspace, Rambus,RayvoltE-Bikes, Red Hat,Residio, Samsung Electronics, SAP, SAS, Scale Computing, Schneider Electric, Silver Peak (now Aruba-HPE), SONY Optical Storage,Springpath(now Cisco), Spirent, Splunk, Sprint (now T-Mobile), Stratus Technologies, Symantec, Synaptics, Syniverse, Synopsys, Tanium, TE Connectivity,TensTorrent,TobiiTechnology, T-Mobile, Twitter, Unity Technologies, UiPath, Verizon Communications,Vidyo, VMware, Wave Computing,Wellsmith, Xilinx,Zayo,Zebra,Zededa, Zoho, andZscaler.Moor Insights & Strategy founder, CEO, and Chief Analyst Patrick Moorhead is a personal investor in technology companiesdMYTechnology Group Inc. VI andDreamiumLabs.

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Atom Computing: A Quantum Computing Startup That Believes It Can Ultimately Win The Qubit Race - Forbes

Quantum computing investments up 80 percent since 2018, and there’s new motivation in the space – Oakland News Now

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CNBCs Eamon Javers reports on the U.S. drive to lead the race for quantum computing. Javers speaks with IonQ president and CEO, Peter Chapman, and

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Cryptographers are not happy with how youre using the word crypto – The Guardian

The stadium that is home to the Los Angeles Lakers is getting a new name: the Crypto.com Arena. The name reflects the arenas new sponsorship agreement with a Singapore-based cryptocurrency trading platform. That may be good news for cryptocurrency fanatics but perhaps not so much for another faction within the digital landscape: cryptographers.

Look up the word crypto in Websters dictionary, and youll see it refers to cryptography, which in turn is defined as the computerized encoding and decoding of information. Search crypto on Google, however, and youll see a host of top results pointing to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.

This lexical shift has weighed heavily on cryptographers, who, over the past few years, have repeated the rallying cry Crypto means cryptography on social media. T-shirts and hoodies trumpet the phrase and variations on it; theres a website dedicated solely to clarifying the issue.

Crypto for decades has been used as shorthand and as a prefix for things related to cryptography, said Amie Stepanovich, executive director of Silicon Flatirons Center at the University of Colorado Law School and creator of the pro-cryptography T-shirts, which have become a hit at conferences. In fact, in the term cryptocurrency, the prefix crypto refers back to cryptography.

Its often a losing battle, and that appears to have played out in the case of crypto.com itself.

Beginning in 1993, as the Verge reported, the crypto.com domain was owned by Matt Blaze, a cryptography expert who repeatedly rejected would-be buyers even as the rise of cryptocurrency meant he could have made millions of dollars.

I think calling cryptocurrencies crypto is a poor choice, with bad consequences for both cryptography and cryptocurrencies, he tweeted in 2018. Ultimately, however, the domain was sold, and now if you go to Crypto.com youll see a giant video of Matt Damon indicating that investing in cryptocurrencies is roughly as courageous as scaling an icy cliff or blasting into space.

Yet there remains an internecine feud among the tech savvy about the word.

As Parker Higgins of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, who has spent years involved in cryptography activism, pointed out, the cryptography crowd is by nature deeply invested in precision after all, designing and cracking codes is an endeavor in which, if you get things a little wrong, it can blow the whole thing up.

There are global debates over both cryptography for instance, questions over whether chat services should offer backdoors that skirt encryption and the regulation of cryptocurrency. There is a need to distinguish between those two areas to avoid absolutely foreseeable confusion, Stepanovich said, a particular issue when it comes to legislators and regulators who are not always subject matter experts in these areas, even if they are charged with overseeing them.

Higgins agreed. Crypto as shorthand for cryptography really was in widespread use. You could talk about crypto even on Capitol Hill and people would know what you were talking about that really did hold a lot of, forgive this, but currency.

And at a time when many still arent sure what cryptocurrency is, the confusion over the terms just makes things muddier. Strong cryptography is a cornerstone of the way that people talk about privacy and security, and it has been under attack for decades by governments, law enforcement, and all sorts of bad actors, Higgins said. For its defenders, confusion over terminology creates yet another challenge.

Stepanovich acknowledged the challenge of opposing the trend, but said the weight of history is on her side. The study of crypto has been around for ever, she said. The most famous code is known as the Caesar cipher, referring to Julius Caesar. This is not new. Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, is a relatively recent development, and she is not ready to concede to a concept that may or may not survive government regulation.

She remains invested in the linguistic debate because its so closely linked to policy. Allowing people to develop and use encryption is hugely important in protecting human rights, privacy and protecting the basis on which cryptocurrency has been built, Stepanovich said.

We all have hills we are willing to die on this might be mine.

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Cryptographers are not happy with how youre using the word crypto - The Guardian

Parfin and Sepior Partner to Bring Institutional Grade Digital Asset Custody Solutions to Latin America, North America and Europe – The Tokenizer

Partnership combines Parfins cutting-edge banking and fintech expertise with Sepiors world-renowned MPC cryptography expertise to deliver the industrys most secure digital asset solutions

Parfin, the British-Brazilian fintech company building digital asset solutions for institutional customers, has announced today a partnership with Sepior, a Danish company specialized in Multiparty Computation (MPC) for Threshold Cryptography.

The partnership will enable the offering of a world-class custody solution that can be installed on-premises as a software-only product. The solution is aimed at traditional financial institutions such as banks, asset managers and hedge funds as well as major players in the rapidly evolving digital asset space.

Alex Buelau, CTO of Parfin said We have been working closely with Sepior for many months and have been impressed by their cryptographic technology and the phenomenal team of scientists that includes big names such as Ivan Damgrd, one of the worlds top cited academics publishing research in cryptography and recipient of several awards in the cryptography and mathematics fields.

MPC technology makes it possible to create blockchain transactions without ever generating a complete private key, relying instead on key shares that are stored and used in a distributed way and never recombined, significantly reducing the risks of loss and theft. Sepiors Advanced MPC provides future-proof and flexible custody infrastructure technology delivering the best possible security, scalability, and performance for online or offline transactions on any device from anywhere.

Parfin has created a powerful and unique platform that uses Advanced MPC by Sepior at its core, to provide custody services with a layer of governance, reporting and regulatory compliance that makes it ideal for institutional customers,said Ahmet Tuncay, CEO of Sepior. Parfins founders have a long and respected standing in banking and fintech, providing them with unmatched insight and relationships to perfectly align our joint technologies with the needs of our customers.

The product offering will be one of the very few MPC custody solutions in the market that can be fully installed by customers as a software-only solution on-premises or in a hybrid cloud setting.

The companies will continue to work together to improve the field of MPC custody, both from a scientific and business perspective. The goal is to offer a world-class, highly secure and efficient custody solution for digital assets including cryptocurrencies, tokens, NFTs, CBDCs and other types of assets says Marcos Viriato, CEO of Parfin.

Parfin is a British-Brazilian Fintech founded in 2019 that offers technology and service solutions for custody, trading and management of digital assets. The solutions are aimed at traditional financial institutions as well as blockchain and cryptocurrency companies.

Founded in 2014, in Aarhus, Denmark, Sepior is the provider of MPC by Sepior the leading key management solution using secure Multiparty Computation (MPC). Sepiors technologies enable trust for online financial transactions and enterprise data protection applications, such as cryptocurrency custodial wallets, public or private blockchains, and cloud-based SaaS offerings. Using patented threshold cryptographic protocols, Sepiors RSA award-winning team of renowned cryptography experts has revolutionized key protection and management required for online security and privacy. The result is a customer-definable security framework that operates with any hardware, virtual device, or platform, using a decentralized-trust model, optimized for current and emerging fintech, cloud, IoT, and distributed ledger applications and services, allowing multiple parties to transact with trust.

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Read More:Fernhill Corp Announces the Acquisition of MainBloq and New Additions to its Board of Directors

Akemona Announces That Its Tokenization Platform Is Live

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Parfin and Sepior Partner to Bring Institutional Grade Digital Asset Custody Solutions to Latin America, North America and Europe - The Tokenizer

Career Insights: All You Need to Know About a Cryptographer – Analytics Insight

Want to know about cryptographer and his role? Check out the article and learn about cryptography

Roles and Responsibilities: A cryptographer develops security systems using algorithms and ciphers to encrypt sensitive data. This professional should make sure that all the important data, which includes financial, personal, business, and military, is safe from hackers. While the specific job duties differ from one organization to the other, a cryptographer needs to have a good grasp of cybersecurity systems and other related algorithms to design robust and secure systems that are not vulnerable to penetration and hacking.

Master Mathematical Cryptography 2020 by Udemy: In this course, you will learn all of the old and modern security systems that have been used and are currently being used. You also learn how to crack each one and understand why certain security systems are weak and why others are strong. You will also understand RSA, AES, and ECC which are the three main modern cryptography systems used today.

Introduction to Applied Cryptography by Coursera: In this specialization, students will learn basic security issues in computer communications, classical cryptographic algorithms, symmetric-key cryptography, public-key cryptography, authentication, and digital signatures. These topics should prove useful to those who are new to cybersecurity, and those with some experience.

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Analytics Insight is an influential platform dedicated to insights, trends, and opinions from the world of data-driven technologies. It monitors developments, recognition, and achievements made by Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Analytics companies across the globe.

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Career Insights: All You Need to Know About a Cryptographer - Analytics Insight

Are you using one of these passwords? If so, its time for a change – Digital Trends

The most common passwords used in 2021 have been revealed, and to call them an embarrassment would be an understatement to say the least.

According to a new report from NordPass, a service that provides a password manager program, a worrying amount of users still rely on extremely weak passwords.

The top 200 most common passwords of 2021 study, covering 50 countries, reveals that 123456 remains as the most popular password for the second year running. More than 103 million people use it for log-in purposes, even though itd take less than a single second to crack it.

Other frequently used passwords within the top 10 list largely consist of number-based passes like 123456789, which is utilized by 46 million individuals. The only two that dont contain a numerical form are qwerty, and of course, password. Theyre applied by 22.3 million and 20.9 million users, respectively.

When it comes to other bad password choices, a stunning number of people opted to make their own names as their preferred password. Elsewhere, Ferrari and Porsche are the most popular car brands in regard to weak passwords.

Unfortunately, passwords keep getting weaker, and people still dont maintain proper password hygiene.

While the vast majority of the top 200 most common passwords can be cracked in less than a second or a few seconds in some cases there are some that would take considerably longer to gain access to. 1g2w3e4r and gwerty123, both used by a million people, would take three hours to crack. Interestingly, removing the 123 from gwerty makes it a much easier target, as itll only take five seconds to crack.

Rounding out the passwords in the list thatll take between 1-3 hours to penetrate are michelle, jennifer, myspace1, and zag12wsx.

NordPasss methodology for forming its research involved working with independent researchers who specialize in the cybersecurity incident research field. The most common password list was compiled via an evaluation of a 4TB database containing leaked passes.

Unfortunately, passwords keep getting weaker, and people still dont maintain proper password hygiene, Jonas Karklys, CEO of NordPass told Lifewire. Its important to understand that passwords are the gateway to our digital lives, and with us spending more and more time online, its becoming enormously important to take better care of our cybersecurity.

So, how does one go about adding additional layers of security that will better protect their passwords? It goes without saying that no one should use 123456 as their entry point for any account or any of the passwords in the aforementioned report for that matter. Password managers have become commonplace and are usually a reliable resort, while two-factor authentication should also be considered as another safety measure.

When factoring in their security deficiencies, passwords, in general, are naturally the most common target for hackers. In fact, 81% of hacking-related breaches are achieved through weak or stolen passwords.

The single most common security vulnerability today is still bad passwords.

Weak passwords are the entry point for the majority of attacks across enterprise and consumer accounts. There are a whopping 579 password attacks every second thats 18 billion every year, Microsoft detailed in September.

Apple, meanwhile, has integrated a newer form of tech into its devices through iCloud Passkey, which effectively getsrid of passwords and offers a more secure process via Public Key Cryptography.

Apple joins both Microsoft and Google in envisioning a future for passwordless authentication. Software giant Microsoft, for one, has already seen more than 200 million users enabling passwordless login for its services.

The single most common security vulnerability today is still bad passwords, Jen Fitzpatrick, senior vice president of core systems at Google, stated in May. Ultimately, were on a mission to create a password-free future.

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Are you using one of these passwords? If so, its time for a change - Digital Trends

What Europe can learn from France when it comes to quantum computing – Sifted

The French ambition to become a world leader in deeptech is one of Europes worst-kept secrets.

Not only does the country have one of the biggest deeptech funds in Europe, Bpifrance,but more importantly it has the people and the pipeline of talent through a best-in-breed university system, which is helping the country become a hotbed for innovation.

Quantum is one segment of deeptech where the French are leaving the rest of Europe, and in fact most other nations, far behind. The ambition to set up a quantum hub in the Paris region, linking large corporations and startups, is truly impressive and far-reaching.

Not only is the region focusing on nurturing homegrown talents, but they are also actively scouting for overseas companies to set up European headquarters in the cluster. How would we know? Well, we were one of the very few UK companies targeted.

France has always been at the forefront of cryptography and has one of the richest ecosystems for quantum pioneers. That history includes individuals ranging from the winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Albert Fert and Serge Haroche, to French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) Gold Medallist Alain Aspects pioneering research on quantum entanglement and quantum simulators.

To build on this, earlier this year the French government announced a 1.8bn strategy to boost research in quantum technologies over five years. This will see public investment in the field increase from 60m to 200m a year.

Not only is investment increasing, but the often overlooked part is that funding is being funnelled into various fields of quantum computing.France recognises that quantum computing is not a homogenous industry and that various aspects require attention outside the development of actual quantum computers.

France is building a frameworkto make the country a key player across the entire quantum ecosystem

For example, one such area is security. Once a functioning quantum computer emerges, the cryptography that is used to secure all data and communications will become obsolete overnight.

Compounding this risk is the harvest now, decrypt later threat. Nefarious hackers might intercept data today and then hold onto it until quantum computers are advanced enough to decrypt it. To tackle this, new encryption methods are being developed that can stand against these new powerful computers, also known as post-quantum cryptography (PQC).

Its clear France recognises this threat, with plans to put 150 million directly to R&D in the field of PQC. This is in addition to the 780 million that is being devoted to developing computing alone, and the 870 million that is being set aside for sensor research, quantum communications and other related technologies.

Taken together, France is building a framework for industrial and research forces to make the country a key player across the entire quantum ecosystem, from computing development to post-quantum security.

So how does the rest of Europe compare? The short answer is that its lagging far behind.

Frances closest competitor is Germany, with its government recently pledging to invest 2bn in quantum computing and related technologies over five years. Thats a larger number than Frances commitment but it appears the scope is to only build a competitive quantum computer in five years while growing a network of companies to develop applications.

France is well on its way to protecting itself against the very real security threats quantum computers will pose

Investments by other individual governments across the rest of Europe are minimal, with many relying on the EUs Quantum Technologies Flagship programme to lead the way. However, with $1.1bn earmarked to cover 27 countries, little attention is being placed beyond computing R&D into adjacent fields like quantum security and communications.

Even if we focus on the security side of the coin, France is well on its way to protecting itself against the very real security threats quantum computers will pose, with the rest of Europe leaving themselves vulnerable.

It is also the case that France, in my opinion, is keeping pace with the traditional leaders the US, China and Canada and even pushing ahead in some areas.

While the US, Canadian and Chinese governments have committed impressive amounts to quantum, much of the focus in these countries is on developing a functioning computer, without recognising that a successful quantum strategy needs to be much broader. For example, although it has now developed a broad security roadmap, the US Department of Homeland Securitys budget for next year makes scant reference to quantum computing and the technology that is going to underpin post-quantum security.

If we measure success in quantum by not only how quickly we can develop such computers, but also how effectively they can be applied and how robust our protection is against the darker side of the technology, then Id argue that France has the worlds most balanced and systemic approach.

France is firmly Europes trailblazing nation; the rest of the continent ought to take note.

Andersen Cheng is CEO of Post-Quantum and Nomidio

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What Europe can learn from France when it comes to quantum computing - Sifted

How technology is looking to replace passwords [Q&A] – Fior Reports

We have long been told that passwords are on the way. In fact, none other than Bill Gates predicted the death of the password at the 2004 RSA conference, yet we still rely on them to manage much of our daily access.

But things are starting to change. Patrick McBride, CMO at Beyond Identity, believes the technology to eliminate passwords and replace them with something more secure is on the rise. We spoke to him to find out more.

BN: Can you completely replace passwords with something fundamentally secure?

PM: The password problem is known. This is inconvenient for end users, but more importantly, it is a very risky method of authenticating the end user. Early attempts to address this involved longer and stronger passwords when people used cracking techniques to figure out which passwords came from a database that was helpful. But many of the ways passwords are stolen, either malware running on the laptop or phishing sites have nothing to do with it. Hackers use these techniques to compromise thousands upon thousands of accounts. If you look at Have I Been Pwned, there are 11 billion credentials so this is clearly a big problem.

Next came multi-factor authentication, but thats cumbersome, I have to select my phone and get this code. Also, its not hackproof, they use phishing techniques and steal the second code. Its a level of protection, but not a lot, so we set out to have staff members eliminate the password entirely.

BN: Which techniques are required for this?

PM: We are now using SSL to authenticate the website we are going to visit so we know it is authentic and then we just set up a secure connection. It uses what is called symmetric cryptography that we are doing trillions of dollars in business every day and not having a lot of problems with it. So we replaced the employee passwords with the same technique of the underlying cryptographic public key / private key.

We have a small authenticator that runs on the desktop so no password is required after logging in with biometrics or PIN. And the PIN code never leaves the system, it is stored in a hardware chip in the computer, which makes it difficult to crack. All modern PCs and mobile devices have something called a TPM its required for Windows 11 systems its a place where you can securely store a private key in hardware. This gives you a very smooth login experience that is also very secure. We then create an SDK that developers can use to incorporate hardcore technology into their application so that we can provide very secure multi-factor login for any app, whether youre logging into a bank website or ordering a pizza.

BN: So there is no additional software or agent required on the endpoint?

PM: Exactly, its self-contained within the company or in any app you download. When I use my banking app or my delivery application, the technology in it is self-contained. That is why we have integrated our secure and smooth functions into your app. The end user doesnt have to do multiple things, they just log into their device and then open their app and its super seamless and very secure.

BN: Weve heard for several years that passwords are on the way. How far do you think we are from a tipping point where everyone will be passwordless?

PM: Its starting now, its gotten easier for companies to do this for their employees so it gets a lot of attraction and removes passwords from the employees experience. The next step is really the consumer apps and this is where things get a little tricky. There are a lot of passwordless things that hide the password but dont actually remove it. If I send you a magic link or even a one-time code to sign up via text message, the hackers have plenty of options to steal that snatch that code. It doesnt matter how complex or unique your password is because if malware steals it, you are still compromised. We removed some of the hassle, password managers do a bit of it, but they dont eliminate the password security problem.

We have reached a tipping point where companies, especially on the consumer side, will start to incorporate technology as they develop new apps. It does so across a range of industries, from banking or financial services companies to everyday e-commerce applications. To get to a position where no one can remember passwords, I would say it will take another three to five years.

BN: All of that is still based on cryptography. How great is the threat from quantum computing?

PM: The cryptographic algorithms that underlie our technology are the same ones that underlie TLS and SSL, it is public key cryptography that is based on a certain set of things. I think were still a long way from breaking this stuff.

Of course you cant perfectly secure the future, the bad guys see quantum computing as a way to defeat the good guys, and the good guys are looking for ways to develop much stronger quantum-based algorithms, but the responsibility, frankly, rests on the industry.

The bigger question is whether youve built your technology so that you can replace it with something more quantum-secure in the underlying algorithms when that eventually happens. I think its a bit of an arms race now. Its going to be a problem, and so it is up to the companies developing technology to make sure we are using cryptographic techniques and that they are future proof. Its still on the horizon and a problem for every single company.

Photo credit: Siphotography / depositphotos.com

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How technology is looking to replace passwords [Q&A] - Fior Reports

Keyfactor Named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 List for the Second Consecutive Year – StreetInsider.com

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The Market Leader in Machine Identity Management Ranks as the Fastest Growing Digital Key and Certificate Automation Provider in North America

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Keyfactor, the pioneer of PKI as-a-Service, and leader in machine identity management, today announced it placed as the fastest-growing digital key and certificate automation provider on this years Deloitte Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies in North America. The company also ranks as the fastest-growing digital key and certificate automation provider on the list for the second year in a row.

On behalf of our global workforce at Keyfactor, its an honor to be named alongside many of the most innovative and fastest growing technology companies in the world for the second year in a row. Enterprises are adapting to hybrid workforces, struggling to manage the proliferation of digital identities at enterprise scale, said Jordan Rackie, CEO, Keyfactor. Keyfactor continues to play a pivotal role in supporting our customers cloud journey through sophisticated crypto-agility solutions. Our continued growth, including our market-defining merger with PrimeKey, exemplifies how we are disrupting the legacy identity management solutions market while also meeting the security needs of our loyal customers and partners.

Traditional identity management solutions are no match for todays evolving enterprise landscape. The accelerated adoption of cloud-first technologies and the increasing IoT attack surface has created a complex ecosystem of infrastructure. Further, the rapid growth of keys and digital certificates cannot be managed effectively with existing solutions. The global pandemic exacerbated this complex reality and as a result, organizations scrambled to adequately mitigate the inherent risks associated with digital environments. As the leader in cloud-first PKI as-a-service and crypto-agility solutions, Keyfactors Crypto-Agility Platform empowers security teams to seamlessly orchestrate every key and certificate across the entire enterprise. Customers can apply cryptography in the right way from modern, multi-cloud enterprises to even the most complex IoT supply chains. It is the only solution on the market that combines expert-run PKI-as-a-Service and certificate lifecycle automation into a single, cloud-delivered solution.

Now in its 27th year, the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 provides a ranking of the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies both public and private in North America. Technology Fast 500 award winners are selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2017 to 2020.

In order to be eligible for Technology Fast 500 recognition, companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the companys operating revenues. Companies must have base-year operating revenues of at least US$50,000, and current-year operating revenues of at least US$5 million. Additionally, companies must be in business for a minimum of four years and be headquartered within North America.

About Deloitte

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (DTTL), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as Deloitte Global) does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the Deloitte name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see http://www.deloitte.com/about learn more about our global network of member firms.

About Keyfactor

Keyfactor is the leader in cloud-first PKI-as-a-Service and crypto-agility solutions. Its Crypto-Agility Platform(TM) empowers security teams to seamlessly orchestrate every key and certificate across their entire enterprise. The company helps its customers apply cryptography in the right way from modern, multi-cloud enterprises to complex IoT supply chains. With decades of cybersecurity experience, Keyfactor is trusted by more than 500 enterprises across the globe and earned Keyfactor a 98.5% retention rate and a 99% support satisfaction rate. Learn more at http://www.keyfactor.com

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PR:Nina Korfias for KeyfactorKeyfactor@famapr.com

Source: Keyfactor

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Keyfactor Named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 List for the Second Consecutive Year - StreetInsider.com

LoginID and NFT PRO Announce Partnership – Yahoo Canada Finance

LoginID will provide their APIs and SDKs as part of the NFT PRO Platform, providing FIDO2 strong authentication to help secure NFTs.

SAN MATEO, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 18, 2021 /CNW/ - LoginID, a FIDO-certified passwordless authentication provider, announced today a partnership with NFT PRO, an industry leader for providing tools for the creation, management, and distribution of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) .

The partnership will include the integration of LoginID's SDKs for developers, the simplest tool for integration of the FIDO2 strong authentication standard. FIDO2 biometric authentication can be used on over 4 billion devices today, and is aligned with regulatory frameworks such as PSD2, Open Banking and GDPR. The use of FIDO2 strong authentication will eliminate the need for passwords, help with account recovery and provide 'Transaction Confirmation' for NFT transactions, which is a digital signature and receipt binding the individual's biometrics to the transaction.

The NFT market has exploded from $141m in 2019 to over $1.2b in the first six months of 2021. By the end of 2021, the market expects to top $2b with no signs of slowing down. As the market grows there will be more pressure on NFT providers, consumers and other participants in the NFT market to increase security to thwart hackers from phishing or taking over accounts and stealing NFTs. LoginIDs FIDO2 strong authentication provides defense against these types of attacks.

"Our enterprise clients demand extensive security AND seamless user experience when it comes to their customers buying NFTs," saif Christian Ferri, CEO, NFT PRO.LoginID gives our clients the best of both, whether they are selling from their website or the metaverse. This partnership is a natural fit for our white label platform."

"NFTs and their owners are becoming the latest target for hackers. The market is starting to experience more and more of these attacks, and in many cases, the attacks start with vulnerabilities created by the use of weak authentication," said Jim Brown, CRO and Co-Founder, LoginID. "NFT PRO provides an extensive platform for building NFT campaigns, and will now include our FIDO2 strong authentication, which can help secure access to NFTs for customers."

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The announcement follows LoginIDs recent announcement with the Algorand Foundation. LoginID will be providing its simple SDKs for Algorand developers to build strong authentication into Algorand applications and smart contracts.

About NFT PRO

NFT PRO is the leading enterprise, white label solution making NFT campaigns seamless, easily executed, and on-brand. Our focus is helping clients extend their brand into digital marketplaces and experiences.

About LoginID

LoginID is a San Mateo/Toronto based company focused on bridging the gap around authenticating users and securing their information. This is facilitated through its FIDO2 and UAF certified strong customer authentication, privacy and tokenization platform. The team is funded by strategic investors such as Visa, and is composed of seasoned executives with decades of experience, across global brands, helping commercialize products around security, cryptography, payments and mobile. For further information contact: sales@loginid.io.

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LoginID and NFT PRO Announce Partnership - Yahoo Canada Finance