Trump Administration May Soon Roll Out Action Plan for Quantum Computing, Sources Say

Steps could include one or more executive orders and a mandate to federal agencies to move up their timelines for adopting measures to mitigate post-quantum threats, per Cyberscoop.

There is no officially announced timeline for rolling out a quantum-computing plan, but industry sources and former national security officials tell Cyberscoop the White House has signaled seriousness about taking action to shape the development of the technology.

The effort is being led by the White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP) and the Commerce Department. Commerce Deputy Secretary Paul Dabbar, who previously co-founded a quantum networking technology company, is the point man at the agency for the initiative, according to Cyberscoop’s sources.

A former official at the Department of Homeland Security who works with the Trump administration confirmed that officials at OSTP and the Office of Management and Budget have been particularly aggressive about moving forward.

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“I did hear there was some forthcoming guidance for agencies, given the push with AI, but more specifically the need for government departments to be much more aggressive about what they’re doing, since the codebreaking capability of quantum is pretty significant for federal agencies,” the official said.

Quantum computing technology harnesses the principles of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, quantum entanglement and quantum interference to process information. Unlike traditional computers, which rely on binary bits (0 or 1) to perform calculations, quantum computers use qubits, which can represent multiple states simultaneously. That enables them to perform far more complex calculations, offering solutions to problems once considered computationally impossible.

Recent breakthroughs in research on quantum computing have made progress against problems of qubit stability, error correction and cryogenic cooling requirements, bringing the technology closer to practical deployment. While quantum computing has applications in finance, aerospace and materials science, among other disciplines, its greatest applications are expected to be found in national security and defense.

Among the threats it poses is the potential ability to crack even the most sophisticated current encryption, endangering not just commercial applications, like the blockchain cryptography that underlies crypto currency, but military and national security systems as well.

Exactly when quantum computers will be available to make good on those threats is not known. But many experts expect them to be a reality in less than a decade, adding to the urgency to prepare for the technology and the disruptions it could bring.

The White House has already teased an announcement on a quantum action plan, Cyberscoop noted. Speaking at a Consumer Technology Association conference in July following the release of the AI Action plan, OSTP director Michael Kratsios said, “the president wrote me a letter the first week or two that I was in office that essentially gave me a charge for what I was supposed to do for the next three years.”

The president named three technologies in the letter, Kratsios related: AI, quantum computing and nuclear. “We had our big nuclear day a month-and-a-half ago. We had AI yesterday, so you can only assume,” he said. “Stay tuned.”