IBM partners Raytheon Technologies on AI and cryptography

IBM and Raytheon Technologies have formed a partnership in order to establish advanced artificial intelligence, cryptographic and quantum solutions for the aerospace, defence and intelligence industries.

The partnership agreement will also include the federal government, as part of a strategic collaboration.

According to the official announcement, AI and quantum technologies give aerospace and government customers the ability to design systems in a faster manner and better secures their communications networks.

IBM was an early investor in cryptography and, 50 years later, it is following suit with blockchain technology.

By combining IBM’s breakthrough commercial research with Raytheon Technologies’ own research, plus aerospace and defence expertise, the companies will be able to crack once-unsolvable challenges.

Dario Gil, senior vice president of IBM and director of Research, said the rapid advancement of quantum computing and its exponential capabilities have spawned one of the greatest technological races in recent history – one that demands unprecedented agility and speed.

“Our new collaboration with Raytheon Technologies will be a catalyst in advancing these state-of-the-art technologies – combining their expertise in aerospace, defence and intelligence with IBM’s next-generation technologies to make discovery faster, and the scope of that discovery larger than ever,” he said.

Together with AI and quantum, the companies will jointly research and develop advanced cryptographic technologies that lie at the heart of some of the toughest problems faced by the aerospace industry and government agencies.

IBM’s commercial technologies to be implemented

Mark E Russell, Raytheon Technologies chief technology officer, stressed that encrypted communications were at risk of becoming too exposed.

“Take something as fundamental as encrypted communications. As computing and quantum technologies advance, existing cybersecurity and cryptography methods are at risk of becoming vulnerable,” he said.

“IBM and Raytheon Technologies will now be able to collaboratively help customers maintain secure communications and defend their networks better than previously possible.”

Both companies said they would be building a technical collaboration team to quickly insert IBM’s commercial technologies into active aerospace, crypto, defence and intelligence programs.