Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the general availability of Amazon Braket, a fully managed AWS service that will provide a development environment to explore and design quantum algorithms, the company reported on Thursday.

“As we see quantum computing technologies make more meaningful progress, thousands of customers are asking for ways to experiment with quantum computers to explore the technology’s potential and contribute to its development,” said Bill Vass, VP of Technology, at AWS.

AWS’ Braket will test and troubleshoot quantum algorithms on simulated quantum computers through computing resources in AWS to verify implementation. Users can leverage Amazon Braket to run quantum algorithms on a variety of processors based on different technologies, including systems from D-Wave, IonQ, and Rigetti.

The company’s solution will design quantum algorithms, visualize results and collaborate with others. Amazon Braket will provide cross-platform developer tools to enable customers to design their own quantum algorithms or use pre-built algorithms.

In addition, users will be able to run, test and troubleshoot algorithms on quantum computer simulators that use Amazon EC2 computing resources and run algorithms on the quantum computers without using multiple providers or committing to a single technology.

Amazon Braket customers can choose superconducting quantum annealers from D-Wave, trapped ion processors from IonQ, or superconducting quantum processors from Rigetti. Amazon Braket will also run hybrid algorithms to overcome the limitations.

“Our goal for Amazon Braket is to be a catalyst for innovation across the quantum community, bringing together hardware and software developers, researchers, and end users,” Bass concluded.

About Amazon Web Services

For 14 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. AWS offers over 175 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 77 Availability Zones (AZs) within 24 geographic regions, with announced plans for nine more Availability Zones and three more AWS Regions in Indonesia, Japan, and Spain. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs.

Quantum has launched a new software with advanced features and capabilities for DXi backup appliances to improve backup, restore system performance and monitor systems remotely utilizing cloud-based analytics, the company reported on Tuesday. 

"Backup efficiency continues to be a vital priority for Enterprises seeking to make the most of their datacenter resources while protecting increasingly distributed environments. These significant new software feature enhancements optimize performance with bandwidth and interface improvements, enabling DXi appliances to integrate much more tightly with backup applications," said Bruno Hald, general manager of Secondary Storage, Quantum. 

Quantum’s DXi 4.1 software will integrate Veeam Backup & Replication v10 to enable faster synthetic full backups in Veeam environments to increase efficiencies for enterprises. Quantum’s software will leverage Veeam Backup and Replication v10 Fast Clone technology to accelerate synthetic full backup performance.  

The partnership will advance the creation of synthetic full backups, and reduce disk space requirements and load on storage devices. Quantum DXi systems will also connect to Quantum's Cloud-Based Analytics (CBA) software, a cloud-based services tool that enables end-to-end integrated communication between Quantum systems and Quantum product and service experts. 

CBA software will enable administrators to monitor system health remotely through a secure cloud-based portal. The addition will provide administrators with a central portal to monitor and track system and environment health and statistics, providing a proactive view into backup environments.

"Quantum DXi continues to develop as a valued tool for protecting vital Enterprise data. The combination of Veeam Backup & Replication v10 and Quantum DXi 4.1 software really moves data protection a step forward with a simple, flexible, and reliable solution for hybrid-cloud environments," said David Harvey, VP of Strategic Alliances, Veeam.

About Quantum

Quantum technology and services help customers capture, create and share digital content – and preserve and protect it for decades. With solutions built for every stage of the data lifecycle, Quantum's platforms provide the fastest performance for high-resolution video, images, and industrial IoT. That's why the world's leading entertainment companies, sports franchises, researchers, government agencies, enterprises, and cloud providers are making the world happier, safer, and smarter on Quantum. Quantum is listed on Nasdaq (QMCO) and was added to the Russell 2000® Index on June 26, 2020.

The U.S. Navy’s Fleet Cyber Command/10th Fleet has issued a strategic plan for the next five years, recognizing the need for the service to have “more resilient and hardened” networks against adversaries during a crisis.

“I am certain the opening rounds of a 21st century great power conflict, particularly one impacting the maritime domain, will be launched in the electromagnetic, space, or cyber domains,” Vice Adm. Timothy "T.J." White, the command’s chief, said in a foreword to the strategic plan. “If the Navy is to fight and win, Navy networks must be able to survive those hits and ‘fight hurt.’ Our people must be trained and exercised to fight through those hits.”

White added that the service must ensure that its networks “remain a key advantage for the Fleet during times of lethal combat.” The latest plan’s vision consists of three primary elements: ensuring first mover advantage in full-spectrum information warfare; fighting and winning in a fully contested battlespace, as well as promoting modernization and innovation.

The command made some minor changes to the 2015-2020 strategic plan’s five goals to reflect the maturation of information warfare and shift to great power competition. These goals are operating the network as a warfighting platform, performing fleet cryptologic warfare, delivering warfighting capabilities and effects, accelerating the Navy’s cyber forces and establishing and maturing Navy Space Command.

Several House lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allocate $28 billion in federal funds to modernize and improve the security of information technology systems of state and local government agencies in response to a recommendation by the Cyberspace Solarium Commission in a recent white paper.

The State and Local IT Modernization and Cybersecurity Act would establish the Modernizing IT Program, Public Health Emergency IT Modernization Grant Program, a State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program.

The Modernizing IT Program seeks to distribute $25 billion in grants to help state and local government agencies facilitate the digital delivery of emergency, administrative, benefit and entitlement services, while the Public Health Emergency IT Modernization Grant Program intends to provide $1 billion in funds to help agencies cover COVID-19 expenses for IT services and equipment.

The third grant program will allot $2 billion in funds for fiscal years 2021 through 2025 to help agencies implement a state cybersecurity plan to address cyber threats.

“In our initial report, the Solarium Commission recognized that outdated state and local government systems were attractive targets for our adversaries and that we needed to help them migrate to secure, cloud-based infrastructure,” Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), a Cyberspace Solarium commissioner and senior member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement published Thursday.

“The State and Local IT Modernization and Cybersecurity Act will dramatically improve e-government services, protect workers, and significantly enhance security," he added. 

Other proponents of the bill are Solarium co-chairs Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) and Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) as well as Reps. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Will Hurd (R-Texas), C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Max Rose (D-N.Y.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.).

The General Services Administration (GSA) expects to complete the transfer of the Federal Procurement Data System’s reports functions – administrative, standard, ad hoc and static – to the System for Award Management’s beta website by Oct. 17.

An Aug. 3 update says users will no longer run and create contract data reports and reports module on the FPDS website on that date. FPDS will retain other functions.

GSA wants users to provide feedback and review reference guides and frequently asked questions and watch training videos as they access reports on the beta SAM website.

The FPDS reports migration concludes an agile iterative improvement and soft launch process that started in March.

The U.S. Army is looking into the characteristics of ultraviolet communication systems with regard to how the technology can boost network security. Army Research Laboratory said Tuesday that ultraviolet communication technology increases the stealth of transmissions against threats.

ARL developed an ultraviolet communication analysis framework that builds on applicable simulations, theories and modeling. Robert Drost, an ARL scientist, said UVC offers low-probability-of-detection hinted by the high-rate atmospheric absorption of deep-UV wavelengths.

“In order to fully take advantage of this characteristic, a rigorous understanding of the LPD properties of UVC is needed," Drost said.

The effort's team will continue to study the UVC concept and work to transition the technology in partnership with Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center.