Why did the Russian "Quantum Valley" scare British intelligence

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree on the creation of the Quantum Valley Innovation Science and Technology Center (STC) in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. According to the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers, it is planned to develop modern digital Technology, including quantum technologies and artificial intelligence.


- emphasized in a press release from the Government.

Russia's movement towards quantum supremacy

It is important to note that the new R&D center was not created for show. All this is part of a large-scale Russian project to achieve quantum supremacy - a race in which all the leading world powers have joined in recent years. Quantum supremacy is a scientific concept according to which quantum computers can solve problems that are fundamentally unattainable for modern computers. And despite the fact that some researchers with enviable regularity declare its achievement, there is still no generally accepted fact of building an effective quantum computer by the scientific community.

That is why Russia is now purposefully accelerating the development of quantum technologies. Thus, the Government has already planned to allocate 23 billion rubles to finance the Quantum Computing roadmap within the framework of the Digital Technologies federal project, which is planned to be spent on creating the necessary infrastructure: scientific laboratories and research centers. Moreover, it is important not that state funding will allow Russian companies and research institutes to join the quantum race with renewed vigor, but that now they will act together. In order to develop quantum computing in Russia today, a consortium "National Quantum Laboratory" has been formed, created under the auspices of the state corporation "Rosatom" and with the participation of such leading Russian universities as MIPT, HSE, MISiS. Economists often say that one of the main problems in Russia is the relatively low concentration of capital and labor resources, including highly qualified specialists. The creation of such an association and a network of scientific centers working on the solution of one problem will allow solving this problem and bringing together all the best minds of Russia in the field of quantum computing in one place.

In addition, it is important not only to combine them on paper, but also to create a common system of continuous exchange of best practices. So, according to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, who oversees digital transformation, innovation and technological development, the Russian government is going to form a single digital platform for quantum technologies.


- noted Chernyshenko.

At the same time, there is no such collaboration in the United States at the moment. Moreover, its very existence is now, in principle, impossible. After all, the leading American corporations engaged in quantum computing (Google and IBM), today not only do not work together, but on the contrary do everything to belittle the achievements of their rivals. According to the BBC, when Google announced in 2019 that the 53-qubit Sycamore processor it developed for the first time in history went beyond the capabilities of conventional computers, representatives of IBM questioned both their data and the calculation methodology. In this case, corporations are much more important about their own commercial interests than the interests of their own country - this is the local specificity of capitalism built in the USA.

However, in Russia it is fundamentally different. And despite the transition to the market the economy, the state is well aware of what efficiency can be achieved when researchers work in the same direction and towards a common goal. Indeed, this is precisely the notorious effect of synergy: even two scientists working together will show better results than alone, let alone thousands. Russia is a country with almost 150 million inhabitants and something else, but with economies of scale, we are all right. And, obviously, this is recognized even in the West.

MI6 and quantum security

British intelligence (MI6) must work more actively with technology corporations to counter threats from the Russian Federation and the PRC - this is the approximate content of the first speech of Richard Moore as the head of the United Kingdom intelligence service, published on November 30 in The Guardian.


- said the new head of MI6.

And he did it exactly on the day of the signing of the decree on the creation of "Quantum Valley" in the Russian Federation, which is hardly a coincidence. Moore also added that he recognizes the inability of his department to independently develop the tools required to counter hybrid threats in these areas. Indeed, unlike Western countries, where private companies are engaged in quantum computing, Russia is now elevating the development of quantum technologies to the category of state policy... And such a decision is undoubtedly extremely disliked by those who are at the forefront of the geopolitical struggle - the intelligence services.

Above all, because quantum computing is paving the way for an entirely new field - quantum security, of which the communications revolution is an important part - an industry so important to intelligence. The security of communications provided by quantum technologies will be absolute. At least, this is the opinion of leading experts on this issue. Interception of any transmitted information will be simply impossible - this will be prevented by the very essence of the phenomenon of quantum entanglement used in the communication process. To say that this will revolutionize intelligence is to say nothing.

Although this is only one side of the coin. Another is that the emergence of really powerful quantum computers will at once bury all existing "classical" encryption algorithms, built on the logic of a binary system. First of all, because they are not based on the complete security of protocols (indestructible encryption algorithms do not exist in principle), but on the fact that breaking them in each specific case will take too long. But quantum computers can shrink it thousands of times, and data that took months to decrypt can be made available in a matter of hours. As a result, any information transmitted through secret channels, be it military reports, state secrets or secret commercial developments, will immediately appear at a glance for those who can be the first to build an effective quantum computer and use it.

Thus, by creating the "Quantum Valley", Russia is taking a step in the right direction. And the new chief of British intelligence is not in vain so openly expressing his concern. After all, let's be honest: Russia already has nuclear weapons, and today no one doubts the military potential of our country. New types of weapons, like space weapons, are constantly being developed and improved - the recent test of a Russian anti-satellite missile was extremely successful. But it is still worth looking into the future, and in addition to exclusively military technologies, pay attention to dual-use technologies, which include developments in the field of high technologies. It is already becoming obvious that the future of the geopolitical struggle lies in the field of quantum computing and genomic technologies. And if Russia wants to strengthen its status as a world superpower, then it needs to do this. After all, the defense potential of the state must first of all be formed with an eye to the future. And if military operations in the form of hybrid attacks are moving into cyberspace, then the Russian side should also be at the forefront of new technologies.