The sun rises and sets like clockwork, and yesterday’s innovations are gone tomorrow. Except, it appears, in cybersecurity. Cyber defenses from a generation ago linger front and center, even as the coming wave of quantum computing is poised to reshape the digital world. Steve Grobman, CTO for McAfee, makes the case that our current defenses share far too many traits with legacy immunology practices. It’s time to get smart. Because the way it’s always been shouldn’t always last. It’s time to ask, can we act in time to change the future?
Creative Direction x McAfee Brand Team  /  Project Lead and Written by: Mark G. Murray  /  Creative: Mel de Beer  /  Art Direction: Wilkin Ho  /  Agency: Four Winds Creative


//   Classical bits are black and white, quantum bits more complex. Quantum computers perform calculations by manipulating systems of quantum bits, or “qubits.” These qubits are intertwined, or entangled, with one another. This entanglement is what gives quantum computers their massive power — instead of just storing information in individual bits, quantum computers make use of the complex relationship that exists among all the qubits. As a result, for certain problems quantum machines can bring to bear exponentially more processing power than classical machines.

//   Quantum-as-a-Service’. Quantum computing will enable us to achieve breakthroughs in biology, chemistry, physics, and cybersecurity. On the other hand, we are realistic enough to recognize that nation states will use quantum to break our public key crypto systems.


//   Are we patching fast enough to resolve flaws in foundational elements? We’ve been dealing with Patch Tuesday for 17 years. And patching for much longer. We recognize the criticality of patching, but the data suggests we’re collectively not moving fast enough to patch known vulnerabilitity…including those we know can have a significant impact.


//   Hydrodynamic quantum analogs. When a droplet bounces along the surface of a liquid toward a pair of openings in a barrier, it passes randomly through one opening or the other while its “pilot wave,” or the ripples on the liquid’s surface, passes through both. After many repeat runs, a quantum-like interference pattern appears in the distribution of droplet trajectories.

//   A droplet bouncing on the surface of a liquid has been found to exhibit many quantum-like properties, including double-slit interference, tunneling and energy quantization.


//   Influenza (flu) Virus. The virus’ hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) surface proteins are displayed in semi-transparent blue sticking out of the surface of the virus. On the inside of the virus, its ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) are shown in white with their coiled structures and three-bulbed polymerase complex on the ends. 

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//   Quantum entanglement is thought to be one of the trickiest concepts in science, but the core issues are simple: particles or points in a field, such as the electromagnetic field, shed their separate identities and assume a shared existence, their properties becoming correlated with one another’s.

>>> Explore more: TIME TO TELL #secrets
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