QuSecure Awarded Coveted SBIR Phase III Federal Government Procurement Sole-Source Contract for Post-Quantum Cybersecurity Solutions
QuSecure has announced the federal government has awarded QuSecure with the coveted Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III Federal Government procurement contract for PQC solutions. As the only PQC vendor earning the Phase III designation, QuSecure has been established as the government’s sole-source provider of PQC solutions, setting the standard for all Federal Government’s PQC requirements. The sole-source contract is for QuProtect™, the industry’s first end-to-end PQC software-based solution uniquely designed to protect encrypted communications and data with quantum-resilience using quantum secure channels.
This is the government’s first and only Phase III designation aimed at addressing the post-quantum threat, and further emphasizes today’s need to deploy PQC for classical and future quantum attacks. Recognizing the White House and Congress’ desire for urgency for this critical security need, QuSecure’s Phase III contract award occurred in record time.
The government is setting the pace when it comes to addressing quantum threats, and enterprises and other sectors should follow suit. Already this year the White House mandated PQC compliance via the National Security Memorandum “Promoting United States Leadership in Quantum Computing While Mitigating Risks to Vulnerable Cryptographic Systems.” Also, the introduced Endless Frontiers Act establishes a Technology and Innovation Directorate at the National Science Foundation to use $100 billion in federal funds over five years to research emerging technologies including quantum computing, and specifically mentions the need for PQC.
“With this award, the United States Government is once again taking steps to lead the charge in defending against post-quantum threats,” said Navy Rear Admiral Mike Brown (retired), a senior cybersecurity specialist formerly with the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. “It recognizes QuSecure’s capability and supports scaling post-quantum cryptography commercially, federally, and especially for the warfighter. QuSecure has brought together a team of dedicated quantum technology experts, cryptographers, former defense and intelligence community members, business professionals, and serial entrepreneurs who are leading critical advancements and ensuring post-quantum protection for all our nation’s infrastructure and enterprise business.”
The government Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants follow a funding ladder where a Phase I funding award provides up to $250,000, while Phase II funding awards provide up to $1.25 million. A Phase III SBIR award, recently given to QuSecure, is intended to not only provide funding for rapid and broad federal government adoption of the given technology, but to also commercialize the technology and R&D objectives under the previous Phase I/II awards. Phase III awards allow the government to fund the awardee to the greatest extent practicable with no funding cap. Last year, the government granted 15 companies the Phase III distinction for a total worth of $1.7 billion, or an average of more than $100 million for each Phase III award in 2021 alone. QuSecure previously earned a Phase I funding award in 2019, followed by a Phase II funding award in early 2022.
“As organizations begin to evaluate the opportunities and threats that quantum computing presents, the federal government is already acting now to hedge against those threats which, if not addressed, could completely knock the United States out of the arena,” said Laura Thomas, former CIA Chief of Base with more than 17 years in various national security and leadership roles and currently vice president of corporate strategy at ColdQuanta, a quantum computing and sensing company. “As they are reviewing all the data that we transmit and that our competitors can harvest, they have started to choose their PQC solutions. The most recent example is QuSecure being awarded the government’s SBIR Phase III designation, paving the way as the sole-source PQC solution provider for more than a dozen of the federal government’s largest agencies. This choice was made as QuSecure has proven that its adaptive orchestrated PQC solution offers continuous availability providing the simplicity, flexibility and scalability for the universal protection needed to secure our networked society and national interests.”