The move comes just two weeks after UK-based Arqit – now officially Arqit Quantum – raised funds through a reverse takeover that valued it at US$1.4 billion.
The companies said that they will work together under a so-called “technology alliance partner connect” agreement to explore and test the application of quantum security technologies, including Arqit’s own platform QuantumCloud, to networks.
Arqit founder, chairman and CEO David Williams (pictured) said: “We are delighted to partner with Juniper to demonstrate how QuantumCloud can address the quantum security threats to networks and make networking technology safer and more secure. Juniper’s mission to provide secure networking makes this partnership a natural fit for Arqit and our technologies.”
In an interview with Capacity in June, Williams said: “We’ve invented a method of creating unbreakable encryption keys locally, both at the edge and in the cloud.”
Arqit says it can deliver QuantumCloud keys in “unlimited group sizes”, he said. “For example, to international telecoms networks, and we can change the key every second if we want.” He said that would result in ultra-secure software defined networks (SDNs).
BT has an exclusive deal to distribute Arqit’s QuantumCloud services in the UK, and the Japanese firm Sumitomo has a deal as “the first big international customer”, said Williams. It is working with telcos to encrypt traffic on Japanese fibre cables, he said in that interview.
Juniper and Arqit said today that “cyber-attackers regularly target networks to disrupt business operations” and said they “will explore how network providers can apply quantum secure key-exchange mechanisms to limit interruptions and improve business resiliency”.
They said the increasing use of SDN, and “the ability to dynamically provision networks, along with more secure cryptographic key exchanges, offers network providers the opportunity to provide stronger, more active authentication of devices to secure organisations’ data from even a quantum attack”.
Domenico Di Mola, vice president of engineering at Juniper Networks, said: “Quantum encryption is a promising technology to help make networks more secure against threats now and into the future, and we are thrilled to be working with Arqit on these new innovations.”
