Defense Tech Stocks Move Higher as $15 Billion Cyber Budget Targets Quantum Threats

Issued on behalf of QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp.

USA News Group News Commentary

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 29, 2026 /CNW/ -- Pentagon cyber funding is jumping to $15.1 billion in the 2026 budget^[1]. Defense leaders are now rushing to build quantum-resilient systems to stop AI-driven hacks and future decryption threats. AI-powered hacking is the new standard in 2026^[2]. State-sponsored attackers are now using automated systems to handle up to 90% of their cyber operations. This shift turns weeks-long attacks into minutes. This massive change in national security creates a major opportunity for Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. (QSE) (CSE: QSE) (OTCQB: QSEGF) (FSE: VN8), IonQ (NYSE: IONQ), Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH), Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) subsidiary Google Cloud, as essential nodes in the sovereign security architecture connecting quantum-resistant cryptography, AI-hardened defense platforms, and mission-grade compute infrastructure.

Leading security analysts warn that organizations delaying post-quantum cryptography adoption risk retroactive decryption of today's encrypted data^[3], forcing immediate migration strategies that prioritize cryptographic agility over disruptive system replacement. The Pentagon's 2026 AI strategy declares this year will "emphatically raise the bar for Military AI Dominance"^[4], directing substantial compute infrastructure expansion and accelerated deployment of AI-native defense capabilities that require quantum-resilient encryption as the foundational security layer protecting classified networks from store-now-decrypt-later attacks targeting the compute backbone of national defense.

Quantum Secure Encryption Corp. (CSE: QSE) (OTCQB: QSEGF) (FSE: VN8) has joined the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), positioning the post-quantum security company within Canada's defence and security ecosystem. CADSI represents more than 900 Canadian companies across defence, security, cybersecurity, aerospace, and advanced technologies, serving as the industry's collective voice to government, military, and international partners.

The membership provides QSE with access to senior decision-makers across the Canadian Armed Forces, federal departments, allied governments, and international defence partners. This structured platform enables collaboration and policy dialogue as governments assess long-term cryptographic resilience against emerging quantum computing capabilities that threaten current encryption standards. The engagement positions QSE to participate in CANSEC, Canada's largest defence and security trade show, while gaining access to member-only market intelligence and policy briefings.

"Joining CADSI is an execution decision," said Ted Carefoot, CEO of QSE. "Defence and government stakeholders are actively evaluating deployable post-quantum controls today, not just long-term narratives. Our focus in FY26 is to convert public-sector engagement into paid pilots and scaled deployments that can contribute to recurring revenue as we move through Q2, Q3, and Q4."

The CADSI announcement follows QSE's recent announcement of its coming participation in the World Defense Show 2026 in Saudi Arabia this February as part of the official Canadian Delegation. That event connects QSE with government and military leaders addressing quantum threats to critical infrastructure.

International momentum continues through a strategic partnership with NUSA Networks and Porta Nusa, securing immediate access to Indonesia's government, financial services, and enterprise sectors. NUSA Networks, one of Indonesia's premier system integrators with over 150 major projects completed, effectively fast-tracks QSE technology into critical national infrastructure.

The technology platform is market-ready and certified. QSE holds Level 2 Certification under the CyberSecure Canada program, while the QSE Group division maintains a distributor agreement with Enzo Plus representing these technologies across 300 channel partners in Southeast Asia. The qREK Software Development Kit allows enterprises to generate quantum-resilient encryption keys backed by authentic quantum entropy, supporting AES, RSA, and NIST-recommended post-quantum algorithms. QSE also captures the secure communications market with QSE-Chat, a mobile application available on Apple and Google platforms for enterprise clients.

With the global post-quantum cryptography market projected to reach $17.69 billion by 2034 and backed by a recent C$2.8 million financing round, QSE is fully funded and operationally ready to execute on its global expansion roadmap throughout 2026.

CONTINUED… Read this and more news for QSE - Quantum Secure Encryption Corp at: https://usanewsgroup.com/2024/04/26/the-currency-of-tomorrow-why-investing-in-cutting-edge-ai-recognition-tech-could-mean-big-money/

In other industry developments and happenings in the market include:

IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) has completed acquisition of Skyloom Global Corp., a developer of lightwave-optics technology for secure, high-performance communications, with the transaction previously announced in November 2025 now closed. The leading quantum company gains Skyloom's expertise in free-space optical communications, photonic systems engineering, and secure data transmission to strengthen its quantum networking roadmap and accelerate work across quantum key distribution and future quantum-enabled communications infrastructure.

"Completing the Skyloom acquisition is another important step as we build the foundation for scalable quantum networking," said Niccolo de Masi, IonQ's Chairman and CEO. "Skyloom brings proven optical and communications expertise to complete our vision for distributed quantum entanglement and ultra-secure connectivity. We look forward to bringing our quantum platform solutions to their existing government, aerospace, and defense customers."

Skyloom CEO Marc Eisenberg and management team have stayed on to lead the business aligned with IonQ's technical roadmap. The acquisition advances IonQ's strategy of combining quantum computing, networking, sensing, and security technologies, following recent acquisitions of Capella Space, Lightsynq, ID Quantique stake and Vector Atomic, giving IonQ ownership of all critical technology layers for distributed quantum entanglement.

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) has announced availability of Vellox Reverser, a malware reverse engineering and threat intelligence product designed to accelerate cyber defense through resilient agentic AI architecture. The product rapidly automates time-intensive in-depth malware analysis of complex and evasive threats, delivering actionable intelligence and comprehensive countermeasures at machine speed that integrate seamlessly into existing security workflows.

"As AI-driven cyberattacks become one of the primary security concerns in 2026, we're proud to deliver a mission-grade malware analysis product that helps our customers address the most complex threats at speed," said Mujtaba Hamid, executive vice president of product at Booz Allen. "Vellox Reverser will serve as a force multiplier for security teams, embedding decades of Booz Allen cyber defense tradecraft into AI agents designed to replicate world-class malware analysts so our customers can analyze threats at a depth unmatched by other tools and solutions."

The product is now widely available to federal and commercial customers, featuring new Binary and Function Similarity Matching capabilities that dramatically reduce investigation time. In recent evaluations, Vellox Reverser completed sophisticated malware analysis in minutes, evaluating over 120 functions and generating comprehensive reports with indicators mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) subsidiary Google Cloud announced a landmark agreement combining Google Cloud's leading AI infrastructure with Prisma AIRS to secure next-generation digital business. The expanded strategic partnership delivers end-to-end AI security from code to cloud, protecting live AI workloads on Vertex AI and Agent Engine while securing developer tools like the Agent Development Kit with comprehensive AI Posture Management, AI Runtime Security, AI Agent Security, AI Red Teaming, and AI Model Security capabilities.

"Every board is asking how to harness AI's power without exposing the business to new threats," said BJ Jenkins, President of Palo Alto Networks. "Together with Google, we are embedding our AI-powered security deep into the Google Cloud fabric, turning the platform itself into a proactive defense system."

Building on more than 75 joint integrations and $2 billion in sales through Google Cloud Marketplace, Palo Alto Networks is migrating key internal workloads to Google Cloud in a new multibillion-dollar agreement. The collaboration addresses findings from Palo Alto Networks' December 2025 State of Cloud Report showing 99% of respondents experienced at least one attack on AI infrastructure over the past year.

Article Source: https://usanewsgroup.com/2024/04/26/the-currency-of-tomorrow-why-investing-in-cutting-edge-ai-recognition-tech-could-mean-big-money/

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SOURCES:

1. https://www.military.com/feature/2025/12/14/pentagon-cyber-budget-surges-to-$15B-in-2026.html
2. https://www.justsecurity.org/128568/expert-roundup-emerging-tech-trends-2026
3. https://hbr.org/sponsored/2026/01/why-your-post-quantum-cryptography-strategy-must-start-now
4. https://media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/12/2003855671/-1/-1/0/ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE-STRATEGY-FOR-THE-DEPARTMENT-OF-WAR.PDF

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