Dr. Charles Lim, Global Head of Quantum Communications and Cryptography, JP Morgan Chase
Courtesy: JP Morgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase has hired a Singapore-based quantum computing expert to be the bank’s global head of quantum communications and cryptography, according to a memo obtained by CNBC.
Carlos Limassistant professor at the National University of Singapore, will focus on exploring next-generation computing technology in secure communications, according to the memo by Marco Pistoia, who heads the bank’s global technology applied research group.
Lim is a “recognized world leader” in the area of quantum energy communications networksaccording to Pistoia.
Hired from IBM in early 2020, Pistoia has built a team at JPMorgan focused on quantum computing and other emerging technologies. Unlike today’s computers, which store information as zeros or ones, quantum computing hinges on quantum physics. Rather than being binary, qubits can simultaneously be a combination of zero and one, as well as any value in between.
“New Horizons”
The futuristic technology, which involves keeping hardware at super-cold temperatures and is far from commercial use, promises the ability to solve problems far beyond the reach of today’s traditional computers. Tech giants included Alphabet and IBM are running towards build a reliable quantum computer and financial companies including JPMorgan and Visa, are exploring possible uses.
“New horizons will be possible, things we didn’t think were possible before,” Pistoia said in a JPMorgan. podcast interview.
In finance, machine learning algorithms will improve to help detect fraud in transactions and other areas involving “prohibitive complexity,” including portfolio optimization and option pricing, he said.
Drug development, battery materials science and other areas will be transformed by dramatically advanced computing, he added.
But if and when advanced computer technology becomes real, the encryption techniques that underpin the world’s communications and financial networks could immediately become unusable. This has spurred the study of next-generation quantum-resistant communication networks, which is Lim’s area of expertise.
Quantum Supremacy
New forms of cryptography and secure messaging are needed before quantum supremacy, or the point where quantum computers are able to perform calculations beyond the reach of traditional computers in any reasonable amount of time, Pistoia said during the podcast .
That could happen by the end of the decade, he said.
The quantum advantage predates that development and could happen as soon as two to three years, he said. At this time, the new computers are more powerful and accurate than the current versions, but they are competitive.
“Even now that quantum computers aren’t that powerful yet, we don’t have that much time left,” Pistoia said on the podcast. That’s because bad actors are already preserving private communications to try to decrypt them later when technology allows, he said.
Lim “will conduct both fundamental and applied research in quantum information, focusing on innovative digital solutions that improve the security, efficiency and robustness of financial and banking services,” Pistoia said in the memo.
Lim has received the National Research Foundation Fellowship in Singapore and won the National Young Scientist Award in 2019 for his work in quantum cryptography, Pistoia said.
Last year, Lim was asked to lead his country’s effort to create quantum-resistant digital solutions, and has been involved in international efforts to standardize quantum security techniques, Pistoia added.
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