VeriQloud: Securing Data for the Quantum Era
In today’s digital world, vast amounts of sensitive information are stored, transmitted, and processed electronically. Personal data, financial records, medical information, IP, and confidential business documents are typically protected using public-key cryptography such as RSA. However, advances in quantum computing threaten the long-term security of these widely used encryption methods.
This raises an urgent question: how can organizations protect their data against both current and future threats?
Founded in Paris in 2017 and now operating in North America, VeriQloud develops cybersecurity solutions designed for the quantum age. The company focuses on protecting data throughout its entire lifecycle whether it is stored, transmitted, or actively being processed.
According to Didier Guignard, Head of Business and Research Development for North America at VeriQloud, “Quantum computers are unlikely to become household devices. Instead, they will be high-performance computing resources accessible through the cloud. As organizations increasingly rely on cloud infrastructure, it becomes essential to ensure that data remains secure from both external threats and the computing systems processing it.”
Securing Data at Rest
Data at rest refers to information stored on servers, databases, or cloud platforms. VeriQloud addresses this challenge through Qasmat, a solution that combines encryption with secure data fragmentation.
Rather than storing a complete file in a single location, Qasmat divides data into multiple shares and distributes them across separate storage environments. A configurable threshold determines how many shares are required to reconstruct the original information.
“As a result, the original data no longer exists in one place,” explains Guignard. “An attacker would need to identify the locations of the shares and gain access to a sufficient number of them before reconstruction becomes possible. Organizations can choose the level of protection that best matches their security requirements.”
This approach provides additional time to detect and respond to suspicious activity before enough information can be gathered to compromise the original dataset. It also reduces reliance on centralized key management systems, which can be difficult and costly to maintain securely.
Securing Data in Transit
Data in transit refers to information moving between users, devices, data centers, or cloud services. To protect communications, VeriQloud offers Qline, a platform based on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD).
QKD uses the principles of quantum physics to create cryptographic keys while enabling the detection of eavesdropping attempts. Qline is designed as an open and flexible platform whose optical, electronic, and software components can be adapted to meet specific customer requirements.
“The ability to customize deployments has been a major advantage,” says Guignard. “For example, VeriQloud integrated QKD technology into an existing metropolitan fiber network operated by Deutsche Telekom without requiring a complete infrastructure overhaul. The company has also developed cost-effective architectures that allow multiple users to share critical hardware resources.”
This flexibility enables organizations to adopt quantum-safe communication technologies while leveraging existing infrastructure investments.
Securing Data in Use
The third category, data in use, concerns information being actively processed by a computer. Protecting data during computation is particularly challenging because traditional approaches often require the system performing the computation to access sensitive information.
VeriQloud is actively developing solutions in this area through QEnclave, a platform inspired by blind quantum computation protocols.
The foundations of this approach stem from the Universal blind quantum computation (UBQC) protocol, invented by Dr. Elham Kashefi, Dr. Anne Broadbent, and Dr. Joseph Fitzsimons. UBQC enables a client to delegate a quantum computation to a remote quantum computer while keeping the inputs, outputs, and computation itself private from the server performing the work.
Using the properties of quantum mechanics, the protocol allows the computation to remain hidden throughout the process. The server executes the requested computation without learning the user’s data or the algorithm being applied.
“QEnclave aims to create a trusted computing environment in which neither the user’s data nor the computation becomes accessible to the computing platform itself,” explains Guignard.
Acting Before the Quantum Threat Arrives
The need for quantum-safe security extends beyond future communications. A growing concern is the “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” threat, in which encrypted data is intercepted and stored today with the expectation that future quantum computers will eventually be able to decrypt it.
For organizations handling sensitive information with long-term value, waiting until large-scale quantum computers become available may be too late.
Guignard recommends that organizations begin by conducting a comprehensive data inventory to identify what sensitive information they possess, where it is stored, how it is transmitted, and how it is used. This assessment provides the foundation for a long-term security strategy that incorporates both current protections and future quantum-resistant technologies.
As the quantum landscape continues to evolve, VeriQloud is helping organizations secure their data at rest, in transit, and in use, providing practical solutions that address today’s cybersecurity needs while preparing for tomorrow’s quantum-powered world.
Author Bio:
King is a Quantum Creator at Qubo Consulting Corp., where we make quantum accessible by offering targeted training and advising on quantum technologies to organizations, governments and the future workforce. Our goal is to grow the global quantum ecosystem as technical translators, communicators and connectors.
Learn more at https://quboquantum.com/
