Introducing The Quantum Infrastructure Cloud
Public SectorGovernanceJanuary 12, 20267 min read

Closing the Quantum Trust Gap: Why Recomputable Evidence Matters for Public Sector Adoption

The transition from experimental quantum labs to large-scale public sector deployment is currently hindered by a "Trust Gap"—the reliance on vendor-provided internal logs for performance verification.

SoftQuantus

The Challenge

For government and defense sectors, internal technical verification is insufficient for operational auditing and compliance. SoftQuantus QCOS addresses this by providing a tamper-evident "Evidence Bundle" sealed under a SHA-256 Merkle root that records the circuit, the execution mode and the measurement outcomes of a run.

Key Findings

1

Recomputable Evidence

A reviewer can recompute the SHA-256 Merkle root of an Evidence Bundle without relying on the vendor's internal telemetry.

2

Control Plane Separate From Hardware

Keeping the control plane separate from the hardware backend is intended to limit lock-in to a single provider.

3

Operational Integrity

Evidence Bundles record what was submitted and what was measured, sealed under a SHA-256 Merkle root, so a reviewer can check the record afterwards.

The European Context

European policy documents stress control over critical technology. QCOS is designed with a control plane that is separate from the hardware backend, which gives it:

  • •Hardware-agnostic design — The control plane is separate from the execution backend; the backend running today is a CPU state-vector simulator
  • •Recomputable verification — Any reader can recompute the SHA-256 Merkle root
  • •European hosting — The platform runs in Azure West Europe

Evidence Bundles: The Black Box for Quantum

Similar to how aviation black boxes record flight data for accountability, QCOS Evidence Bundles create a tamper-evident record of quantum execution, sealed under a SHA-256 Merkle root, that includes:

✓Cryptographic hash of submitted circuit
✓Execution mode of the run, such as CPU state-vector simulation
✓Measurement outcomes of the run
✓Result metrics for the run
✓Merkle-root seal that any reader can recompute

Practical Takeaways

For Procurement

Mandate recomputable verification, such as sealed evidence bundles, to ensure transparency in vendor selection and ongoing operational review.

For Vendors

Use QCOS to attach to a run a sealed record that a reviewer can recompute and check.

References

  • 1.European Commission. (2025). Quantum Europe Strategy. Brussels: COM(2025).
  • 2.Bitkom. (2025). Position Paper on EU Quantum Strategy.
  • 3.softquantus-verify. Offline verifier for SoftQuantus evidence bundles. Python Package Index.

Ready to close the trust gap?

Discover how QCOS Evidence Bundles record and seal a quantum execution so that a reviewer can check it.

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