A Quantum Computer Trusted Execution Environment

Theodoros Trochatos, Chuanqi Xu, Sanjay Deshpande, Yao Lu, Yongshan Ding, Jakub Szefer
October, 2023
Cite DOI Best of CAL Award Best Paper Runner-up

Abstract

We present the first architecture for a trusted execution environment for quantum computers. In the architecture, to protect the user’s circuits, they are obfuscated with decoy control pulses added during circuit transpilation by the user. The decoy pulses are removed, i.e. attenuated, by the trusted hardware inside the superconducting quantum computer’s fridge before they reach the qubits. This preliminary work demonstrates that protection from possibly malicious cloud providers is feasible with minimal hardware cost.

Type
2
Publication
IEEE Computer Architecture Letters (CAL). Best Paper Runner-Up
Chuanqi Xu
Chuanqi Xu
Ph.D. Student

I am a PhD candidate at Yale University. My current research focuses on quantum computing and computer security, where I design novel attacks and defenses targeting quantum computers and quantum cloud providers. Specifically, my work explores security and privacy across the entire technology stack of quantum computers:

  1. Investigating vulnerabilities in quantum processors and qubit technologies.
  2. Developing secure and private quantum computer systems and architecture.
  3. Ensuring the security of quantum algorithms, with a focus on quantum machine learning (QML).

Previously, I worked on RTL design (Verilog) for FPGAs, implementing Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) that is secure to both classical and quantum computer attacks.

I am actively seeking roles as a research scientist, software engineer, and quant researcher. I am broadly interested in developing systems and infrastructure, especially for ML/GenAI infrastructure and systems.