Quantum Operating System Support for Quantum Trusted Execution Environments
Theodoros Trochatos, Jakub Szefer
TL;DR
The paper addresses securing cloud-based quantum computations against visibility by cloud providers by leveraging Quantum Trusted Execution Environments (QTEEs). It proposes the first architecture for a Quantum Operating System (QOS) that coordinates secure loading of obfuscated circuits, protected execution on QTEE hardware, and secure transmission of results. The work surveys QC-TEE, SoteriaQ, and CASQUE as enabling QTEE technologies and defines a three-phase life-cycle for quantum circuits under QTEE protection, including management of encrypted metadata. The proposed QOS implies minimal hardware overhead and highlights backend-specific scheduling as a key consideration for future error-corrected quantum computers, establishing a foundation for secure cloud quantum computing.
Abstract
With the growing reliance on cloud-based quantum computing, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of quantum computations is paramount. Quantum Trusted Execution Environments (QTEEs) have been proposed to protect users' quantum circuits when they are submitted to remote cloud-based quantum computers. However, deployment of QTEEs necessitates a Quantum Operating Systems (QOS) that can support QTEEs hardware and operation. This work introduces the first architecture for a QOS to support and enable essential steps required for secure quantum task execution on cloud platforms.