Tackle quantum computing attacks! U.S. House of Representatives proposes the Quantum Network Security Prevention Act
On April 18, U.S. Republican Representative Nancy Mace announced on her personal website that she and two Democrats, Khanna and Connolly, co-sponsored the "Quantum Network Security Prevention Act", which urges the federal government to start taking necessary measures to prevent Conspirators steal valuable information in the age of quantum computing, and this important legislation could help future-proof current databases of sensitive information.
Among them, Mace issued the following statement on the legislation: "The future of quantum computing presents significant opportunities and risks. I am optimistic about the power of quantum computing as part of the frontier of new technologies, but we must take pre-emptive measures to ensure There are no more sinister ways for conspirators to use this technology. Our government must learn from past mistakes and act now to protect its citizens from future cybersecurity threats, I believe, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ), in partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will be able to ensure that Americans are protected from these threats until there is no escape route.”
Khanna also said, "While classical computers cannot break encryption now, our adversaries can still steal our data, hoping to decrypt it later. That's why I think the federal government must start strategizing immediately to move our encrypted data to use The best way in algorithms for post-quantum encryption. I am a strong supporter of federal funding for quantum computing and believe that this technology could one day help us solve many of the world's problems. However, as with any new technology, we must plan ahead Potentially nefarious use. A world where all encrypted data is exposed would have catastrophic effects on national security and the economy. That's why I'm proud to introduce this legislation with Rep. Connolly and Mace, so that when the time comes Fix it before it's too late."
In addition to this, the bill has the backing of Google, IBM, PQSecure Technologies, QuSecure, Maybell Quantum and Quantinuum.
The full text of the bill is as follows:
Article 1 Abbreviation
This Act may be referred to as the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act;
Article 2 Findings of Investigation, Opinions of Congress
a. Findings. Congress found the following:
1) Cryptography is essential to our national security and economic functioning;
2) The most common encryption protocols today rely on the computational limits of classical computers to provide network security;
3) Quantum computers may one day have the ability to push the boundaries of computing, allowing us to solve hitherto intractable problems, such as integer factorization, which is important for encryption;
4) The rapid development of quantum computing has shown that it is possible for an adversary to use classical computers today to steal sensitive encrypted data and wait for a sufficiently powerful quantum system to decrypt it.
b. Congressional Opinion. The opinion of Congress is:
1) The need to develop a strategy for the migration of federal information technology systems to post-quantum cryptography;
2) Government and industry-wide approaches to post-quantum cryptography should prioritize the development of easily updatable applications, hardware intellectual property, and software to support the flexibility of cryptography;
Article 3 Migration to Post-Quantum Cryptography
a. Migration and Assessment:
1) Migrate to post-quantum cryptography. Within 1 year of the publication of the post-quantum cryptography standard by the director of NIST, the director of OMB, in consultation with the Council of Chief Information Officers, should begin prioritizing migration to post-quantum cryptography and conduct an evaluation of the information technology systems of executive agencies that do not use post-quantum cryptography, including digital sign;
2) Specify the system for monitoring. Within one year and on an ongoing basis of NIST's development of post-quantum cryptography standards, the Director of OMB, in consultation with the Council of Chief Information Officers, shall designate the Administration's information technology systems and prioritize migration to post-quantum cryptography based on the risks of systems that do not use post-quantum cryptography system.
b. Report on post-quantum cryptography. Within 1 year of the date of enactment of this section, the Director of OMB shall submit to Congress a report on:
1) a strategy to address the risk of weakened encryption for the executive agency's information technology systems due to the possibility, and possible ability, of quantum computers to break such encryption;
2) The necessary funds to ensure that these information technology systems are not threatened by adversaries accessing quantum computers;
3) Describe and analyze ongoing coordination efforts with international standard-setting organizations and consortia (such as the International Organization for Standardization), including any frameworks and timelines, to develop standards for post-quantum cryptography. This includes any federal information processing standards established under a section of the United States Code.
c. A report on the migration of information technology systems to post-quantum cryptography. Within 1 year of the publication of the post-quantum cryptography standard by the director of NIST, and every year thereafter until 9 years after the publication of the standard, the director of OMB shall submit a report to Congress.
d. Definitions of terms. In this section:
1) Classic computers. The term "classical computer" means a device that accepts digital data and processes the data according to a program or sequence of instructions, and encodes the information into binary bits, which can be either 0 or 1;
2) Director of NIST. "NIST Director" means the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology;
3) Director of OMB. "OMB Director" means the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
4) Administrative agencies. The term "executive agency" has the meaning of the term "executive agency" in section 105 of title 5, United States Code;
5) Information technology. "Information Technology" has the meaning ascribed to that term in 40 U.S.C. § 11101;
6) Post-quantum cryptography (PQC). "Post-quantum cryptography" refers to cryptographic systems that are: secure against decryption attempts using quantum or classical computers; and interoperable with existing communication protocols and networks;
7) Quantum computers. "quantum computer" means a device for computing that uses quantum mechanics such as superposition and entanglement to perform computational operations on data;
8) Overlay. "Superposition" refers to the ability of a quantum system to exist in two or more states simultaneously;
9) entanglement. "Entanglement" is the property that two or more quantum objects in a system can be intrinsically related, such that a measurement of one determines a possible measurement of another, regardless of the distance between those objects How far.
Link:
https://khanna.house.gov/sites/khanna.house.gov/files/2022-04-18%20Quantum%20Computing.pdf
