Already in the early stages of development, the DOE hopes that the quantum internet will have a “profound impact on areas critical to science, industry, and national security.” As such, it is not intended as a direct replacement for the internet as we know it. Instead, it would run in parallel as a supplementary network for the banking and health industries as well as serving the national security interest. A quantum internet will not be unhackable: it will likely be much harder for anyone to eavesdrop on the transmission of encrypted data using quantum key distribution (QKD), but that’s not to say it’s impossible.

All 17 DOE National Laboratories will eventually be connected to form the quantum internet backbone, with this working prototype expected to be up and running within a decade. “The Department of Energy is proud to play an instrumental role in the development of the national quantum internet,” the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Dan Brouillette, said.

Read the full article at Forbes

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