This is an Accenture Federal Services’ perspective by Amanda Satterwhite, managing director & cyber practice lead; Drew Epperson, managing director & cyber technical lead; and Garland Garris, cyber resilience & quantum security lead.
As we observe Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the federal government stands at a pivotal intersection where quantum computing and AI converge to reshape our security landscape. Rather than viewing these technologies as competing forces, we should recognize their synergistic potential to reinvent how we defend our most critical systems.
The Quantum-AI Synergy
Quantum computing and AI are not parallel innovations — they actively enhance each other. While conventional computers process information using bits that represent either 0s or 1s, quantum computers employ qubits that can represent both simultaneously, enabling exponential processing advantages. This capability makes quantum systems particularly powerful for complex AI applications.
AI is already proving instrumental in advancing quantum technology. AI algorithms optimize quantum hardware specifications, improving qubit readout and cooling systems. Because quantum computers are highly fragile and susceptible to noise, AI produces optimal environmental conditions and error correction management techniques to stabilize these systems. AI is also being used to develop new quantum algorithms that push the boundaries of what’s computationally possible.
The relationship works in reverse as well. Quantum computing’s exponential processing power means AI systems will be able to learn and improve faster than ever before.
Quantum computers can perform certain calculations that classical computers simply cannot, such as solving ultimate optimization problems through quantum annealing. As quantum technology matures, it will enable new AI architectures and algorithms to be developed rapidly and efficiently at unprecedented scale.
The Agentic AI – Human Red Team Imperative
This synergy creates both opportunity and risk. As we reinvent our technological capabilities, we must simultaneously reinvent our approach to security. Adversarial actors will leverage these same quantum-AI advantages to probe for vulnerabilities and new attack vectors in ways we haven’t seen before.
This is where advanced red teaming becomes essential. Accenture Federal Services has developed a human-agentic red teaming framework that combines human intelligence with cutting-edge technology to uncover vulnerabilities before adversaries can exploit them. Our framework tests AI-enabled systems at scale across multiple modalities and considers the gamut of adversarial access across white, grey, black, and hidden box threat models.
Our red team approach also uses AI to simulate adversarial attacks, probing for implementation flaws and side-channel emissions in quantum protocols. By using quantum neural networks and reinforcement learning, we can discover novel attack vectors and develop defensive strategies proactively. This includes scrutinizing the supply chain for chipsets and hardware—vulnerabilities that will persist even in quantum computing environments.
Building Secure Quantum-AI Systems
The path forward requires us to reinvent security practices from the ground up. Organizations must implement continuous red teaming as quantum and AI capabilities evolve. Security cannot be an afterthought—it must be embedded in the architecture of these systems from their earliest stages.
We need testing frameworks that use a combination of AI and Quantum techniques to further secure emerging AI and quantum technology, creating a dynamic defense that evolves as quickly as the threats. Our modular red team framework is designed to scale and integrate new capabilities as the threat landscape shifts, ensuring that security keeps pace with innovation.
The quantum-AI convergence represents more than technological advancement—it’s an opportunity to reinvent how we think about cybersecurity itself. By embracing the synergistic relationship between these technologies while maintaining rigorous security practices, we can ensure that America’s quantum-AI future is both powerful and protected. Beyond quantum security, investment in hybrid classical quantum systems will enable clients to explore the potential of AI and quantum computing to redefine how clients do business and tackle problems which were once considered intractable.
Download our latest quantum research report and learn how your organization can reinvent cybersecurity for the quantum-AI era.
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. WashingtonExec is sharing OpEds from industry experts on critical cyber topics, and how GovCons and government can work together to secure critical missions.