{"id":5013,"date":"2026-03-30T09:36:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T14:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/?p=5013"},"modified":"2026-03-30T09:36:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T14:36:41","slug":"balado-quantum-machine-learning-for-cybersecurity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/news\/balado-quantum-machine-learning-for-cybersecurity\/","title":{"rendered":"Balado: quantum machine learning for cybersecurity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\ud83c\udfa4 Listen to the full podcast segment on Mon Carnet by Bruno Guglielminetti<\/a><\/p>\n\n

\u00c9milie Delvoye, Director of Communications at Prompt, presents a collaborative project by Soumaya Cherkaoui of Polytechnique <\/a> and Ola Ahmad of Thales Canada<\/a> to detect cyber attacks using quantum technology.<\/p>\n\n

Discover the podcast, in full text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

\u00c9milie: Today, we’re going to talk quantum with two researchers who collaborated on an applied research project: Drs. Soumaya Cherkaoui, full professor in the Department of Computer and Software Engineering at Polytechnique Montr\u00e9al, and Ola Ahmad, chief AI scientist and head of AI, quantum computing and algorithms at Thales Canada, a global leader specializing in high-tech solutions and services, with customers in mission-critical operations, such as the defense, aerospace, cybersecurity and digital markets.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

So, ladies, you’ve been working together on a project to detect anomalies in networks using quantum machine learning. What is it exactly? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Ola Ahmad: The project concerns the detection of anomalies in communication networks using quantum learning. In concrete terms, we’re looking to exploit quantum properties in quantum computers to analyze volumes of network data and more effectively spot unusual behavior, which could ultimately be a cybersecurity problem. We’re looking to identify rare signals, subtle correlations that may herald cyber-attacks or communications disruption. <\/p>\n\n

\u00c9milie: What triggered your innovation and this collaboration?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Ola Ahmad: Our collaboration was triggered by three factors. Firstly, Thales’ ambition to accelerate work in quantum AI and cybersecurity in critical systems. The second was the rapid structuring of the quantum ecosystem in Quebec, particularly in the Sherbrooke region, reinforced by the arrival of the IBM machine in Bromont and the growing strength of the Quantum Institute at the Universit\u00e9 de Sherbrooke. The third factor is the natural alignment between Thales’ priority needs and the expertise of Professor Soumaya Cherkaoui, and also the AlgoLab team, which has enabled us to co-develop concrete use cases, including this project. <\/p>\n\n

Soumaya Cherkaoui: For our part, it was obvious that Thales would bring its in-depth knowledge of cybersecurity issues in critical environments. So collaboration was a natural step. Thale enables us to define scenarios that are realistic, so that we can direct our research towards solutions that can really be transferred to the future. <\/p>\n\n

\u00c9milie: What is the impact of this innovation?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Ola Ahmad: I’d like to highlight several impacts. The first impact is to be able to transform scientific and theoretical advances into quantum algorithms with operational value, validated on real use cases and measured by impact metrics. In cybersecurity, like this project, it means being able to develop a quantum AI algorithm that enables faster, more accurate detection of abnormal behavior in the communications network. This directly improves the protection of critical systems, with a major impact. In some contexts, it can help save lives. In energy, there is an impact on the environment: optimizing the use of resources and reducing energy consumption. Today, AI algorithms consume a lot of data and computing power. With a quantum approach, what we want to achieve in the long term is solutions that are just as good, if not better, but using less data and fewer resources, which impacts our environment. Another impact that is interesting, and Soumaya will be able to elaborate on this, is the development of talent, the orientation of student work, research work towards tangible industrial applications to open them up to the job markets, and because these are the next generations of innovators <\/p>\n\n

Soumaya Cherkaoui: Yes, over and above the scientific advances we’ve made in this project, which are characterizing the added value of quantum (in which cases of use, in which cases of use), there’s also the human aspect, which is the training of talent, and here, it’s something major, to be able to bring our young researchers in a field which is at the interface of AI, quantum, cybersecurity and communication, to a level where they feel really confident, they become experts and they are ready to be on the job market. By the way, they have evolved within the framework of this project, in a collaborative industrial setting. They are very well equipped, scientifically, technologically and professionally. <\/p>\n\n

\u00c9milie: These are rare talents on the market, and we absolutely need them for the next few years.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Soumaya Cherkaoui: Yes, and Ola can tell you more about it.<\/p>\n\n

\u00c9milie: What are the advantages of working with you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Ola Ahmad: First of all, we are fortunate here in Quebec and Canada to be able to count on organizations such as Prompt to support collaboration between academia and industry. This support makes it possible to develop and train talent, advance academic research and advance industrial research on real-world applications. Another advantage is access to complementary skills and expertise. As part of this project, Polytechnique and the Universit\u00e9 de Sherbrooke are contributing theoretical depth on quantum and quantum AI. On the Thales side, we bring real-life use cases, domain knowledge and scientific expertise. <\/p>\n\n

Soumaya Cherkaoui: I might add that this collaboration, which has been made possible by the existence of programs like Prompt, has enabled us to confront our work with real industrial requirements and real use cases. We were able to define representative scenarios together, define the relevant indicators for evaluating the success of the algorithms, and so on. We were able to define representative scenarios together, define the relevant indicators for evaluating the success of the algorithms, etc. This enables us to directly evaluate the success of the algorithms, and to arrive at solutions that are transferable and that can feed into Thales’s quantum roadmap for the coming years. <\/p>\n\n

\u00c9milie: What motivates you to innovate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Soumaya Cherkaoui: For my part, this particular project was born out of a scientific curiosity about what quantum technology could enable us to achieve – new technologies, new challenges and complex problems – as well as a desire to provide new solutions that will have a positive impact on people. On the other hand, there’s always the aspect of training new talent. Getting the students we integrate into the project to a point where they feel really confident, become experts and are ready to enter the job market in these really critical areas. <\/p>\n\n

Ola Ahmad: I would also add my desire to create a real impact that contributes positively to the protection of human lives and our environment. I’m also a researcher who’s very stimulated by new concepts and emerging technologies. Quantum technology stimulates and fascinates me. I’m always keen to strengthen my skills and knowledge in this field. <\/p>\n\n

\u00c9milie: <\/strong>Thank you, ladies. <\/p>\n\n

If your company wants to make its communications more secure, a call for projects in quantum communications is currently underway.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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Listen to the full segment here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Develop tools to help healthcare professionals make better clinical decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[202],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5013"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5028,"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5013\/revisions\/5028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/promptinnov.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}