RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – IBM President Jim Whitehurst went on national TV Monday  to tout the release of new products designed to protect data from the threat of quantum computing hackers and Big Blue’s advantage of “choice” in cloud computing.

Appearing on CNBC, Whitehurst said IBM’s quantum offerings announced moments earlier are designed to secure data now from threats in the future.

“There’s a real concern that threat actors are stealing data today knowing that in the future … they can use quantum to break [encryption],” the former CEO of Red Hat explained.

The new IBM offerings include what it calls Quantum Safety Cryptography Support and Extended IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Crypto Services.

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“You don’t have to worry about encrypting data and it being stolen five years from now,” Whitehurst, who led Red Hat through the $32 billion acquisition by IBM last year, said.

IBM bought Red Hat as part of a strategic plan to expand cloud offerings, including “hybrid cloud” which offers a mix of on-site and off-site access to data. The tech giant, which recently won a share of a big cloud contract from the CIA, also has made two acquisitions recently that it says will boost cloud efforts.

Whitehurst said IBM’s so-called “cloud packs” of services sets the company apart in what IBM has described as a $1 trillion opportunity.

“Our strategic thrust is all about choice,” Whitehurst said, noting that IBM’s cloud packs are designed to run on big cloud servicces providers Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft.

The quantum offerings

Here’s how IBM describes the new quantum offerings:

  • Quantum Safe Cryptography Support: Through the use of open standards and open source technology, this service enhances the standards used to transmit data between enterprise and Cloud, helping to secure data by using a quantum-safe algorithm.
  • Extended IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Crypto Services: New capabilities are available to enhance privacy of data in cloud applications, where data sent over the network to cloud applications and sensitive data elements like credit card numbers, are stored in a database that can be encrypted at application-level – supported by the industry’s highest level of cryptographic key encryption protection with ‘Keep Your Own Key’ (KYOK) capability.

“As our reliance on data grows in the era of hybrid cloud and quantum computing capabilities advance, the need for data privacy is becoming even more critical. IBM now offers the most holistic quantum-safe approach to securing data available today and to help enterprises protect existing data and help protect against future threats,” said Hillery Hunter, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for IBM Cloud, in the product announcement.

“Security and compliance remain front and center for IBM Cloud as we continue to invest in confidential computing and our leading encryption capabilities to help enterprises of all kinds – especially those in highly regulated industries – keep data secured.”

Read more about the products online. 

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