Quantum is here: What federal agencies need to do now

For years, federal agencies have treated quantum technology as something to prepare for, not something to put to work. That distinction is quickly disappearing.

This is the year quantum moved “from science to technology,” according to Tom Patterson, Accenture’s Global Managing Director for Emerging Technology Security. Agencies are now exploring how quantum computing, sensing and communications can support their missions.

“Our message is quantum is here today. It is solving problems,” Patterson said in a new video interview produced by Scoop News Group and underwritten by Accenture.

That leaves agencies with two jobs at once: putting quantum to use and protecting their systems from the risks it creates.

The keys to the kingdom

Much of the quantum security conversation centers on “harvest now, decrypt later.” In that scenario, adversaries collect widely shared digital certificates and wait to decrypt them once quantum computers mature. Patterson warned of a more dangerous variant he calls “steal now, decrypt later,” in which attackers target the closely guarded, long-lived certificates kept deep inside networks.

“Those are much more important because those are the keys to your kingdom,” he said.

AI is raising the stakes, he added, by making it easier for attackers to find and exploit assets that organizations assumed were well hidden.

Patterson said agencies moving to quantum-safe security should focus on three priorities: strategy, risk-based discovery and crypto agility. Crypto agility reflects a major shift. Agencies will need to adopt multiple post-quantum cryptography algorithms suited to different needs, from bandwidth-constrained networks to drones and space systems.

“Being able to move and rotate those around is going to become the difference between success and failure in the federal government,” he said.

Putting quantum to work

At The Forge, Accenture Federal Services’ facility in Washington, D.C., agency teams get hands-on experience with a commercial quantum computer. They learn when quantum makes sense and when a classical system is the better fit.

“A quantum computer is not just a faster computer,” Patterson said. “A quantum computer works differently, so you need to understand what kind of workloads within your mission to give to a quantum computer.”

In one recent session at The Forge, Accenture paired its AI and quantum teams with a federal partner that brought a real-world supply chain optimization problem. The team described the problem to an AI model, which translated it into a form the quantum computer could run. Within 30 minutes, the team had results and full technical reports, work that Patterson said used to take months of planning. “They got real answers,” he said.

Workforce development is just as essential. Rather than relying on rank, Patterson encouraged agencies to identify employees who are naturally drawn to quantum and give them hands-on time to experiment.

“Find the right people, and then get them involved,” he said. “Get them past the white papers and past the PowerPoint … and really roll up their sleeves and get to work.”

Learn more about how Accenture helps federal agencies put technology and AI to work for their missions.

This article and the video interview were produced by Scoop News Group for FedScoop and underwritten by Accenture.