Intelligent CIO North America Issue 54 | Page 68

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Enterprise Security

QuSecure awarded follow-On US Air Force contract for postquantum cybersecurity solutions

QuProtect selected as Department of Air Force PQC Solution of Choice for protecting nation ’ s networks from cybersecurity threats .

QuSecure , a leader in post-quantum cryptography ( PQC ), has been selected by AFWERX for a $ 1.23M Small Business Innovation Research ( SBIR ) Phase II contract focused on Quantum-Resilient Encryption to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force ( DAF ).

The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX have partnered to streamline the SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer ( STTR ) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines , changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small businesses , and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution .
The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR / STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded .
Now , QuSecure will continue its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen national defense .
“ Following our successful performance of the previous SBIR Phase I award , QuSecure is proud to continue with the Department of the Air
Force ’ s efforts toward a more cybersecure national defense ,” said Patrick Shore , Director of Strategy , Government for QuSecure .
“ This award from the Air Force recognizes QuSecure ’ s ability to help enhance our national security capabilities .”
The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force .
AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery , development , and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for air , space and cyberspace force .
With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe , AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development .
As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory , AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF .
AFWERX employs approximately 370 military , civilian and contractor personnel at five hubs and sites executing an annual $ 1.4 billion budget .
Since 2019 , AFWERX has executed over 6,200 new contracts worth more than $ 4.7 billion to strengthen the U . S . defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability .
QuSecure is a leader in post-quantum cybersecurity with a mission to protect enterprise and government data from quantum and classical cybersecurity threats .
Its quantum-safe solutions are pitched as providing an easy transition path to quantum resiliency across any organization .
The company ’ s QuProtect solution is the industry ’ s first PQC software-based platform uniquely designed to protect encrypted communications and data with quantum-resilience using a quantum secure channel .
QuSecure has current customer deployments in banking / finance , healthcare , space / satellite , IT / data enterprises , datacenters and various Department of Defense agencies . p
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