Thanks to the NSA, quantum computing may some day be in the cloud

Grazed from ComputerWorld.  Author: Patrick Thibodeau.

The National Security Agency (NSA) is spending some $80 million in basic research on quantum computing. And what the NSA spends its research money on may ultimately help commercialize quantum computing — and even make it accessible via the cloud.  This is what Defense Department agencies do: They fund basic research that private industry sees as too risky, but if the work leads to breakthroughs, it’s the commercial sector that may benefit the most.

Information about the NSA’s quantum computing research comes from documents acquired by Edward Snowden and published by the Washington Post. These documents use macho sounding names for the quantum computing effort, including "Owning the Net (OTN)."…

Although the revelation may create another uncomfortable Big Brother moment for the NSA, the more important question is whether it — and the government as a whole — is spending enough on quantum computing.  The U.S. isn’t alone in this area. The U.K. government recently announced plans to spend $444 million to create five quantum computing centers. Canada’s Institute for Quantum Computing is more than a decade old. China, Russia and the Europeans are also all investing in quantum research…

Read more from the source @ http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/535144/thanks_nsa_quantum_computing_may_some_day_cloud/