Moving beyond “dual use”: quantum technologies and the need for new research security paradigms

The development of quantum technologies has been labelled the next revolution in human scientific and industrial endeavour. Because quantum technologies have potential military, defence, intelligence and law enforcement applications, there has been a great deal written about quantum as a dual-use technology; however, most of the research on quantum technologies is performed in higher education environments that lack robust security cultures. This theoretical paper generates a basic overview of the impact that quantum technologies are having, and could have, on how technologies are secured in university and higher education settings (“research security”). This paper then analyses the implications of quantum technology from the perspective of research security, arguing that a new paradigm is needed that moves beyond the dual-use binary. Specific applications of quantum technology are used as examples of challenges to the definitions and explanations of dual-use, and several alternatives are proposed and summarised.