The United States and China are in a race to build the world’s first quantum machine, and whoever crosses the finish line first will attain global dominance for generations to come.

In The Quantum Spy, a new genre-bending thriller, New York Times bestselling author and Washington Post columnist David Ignatius tells the fictional story of a hyper-fast quantum computer—the digital equivalent of a nuclear bomb—able to shred any encryption and break any code in existence. When top-secret U.S. research labs are compromised by a suspected Chinese informant, CIA officer Harris Chang sets in motion a history-altering investigation that forces him to question he thinks about loyalty, diplomacy, and the primacy of truth.

Couched in the real-world technological arms race, the novel asks pivotal questions about contemporary national security issues—the competition to achieve quantum computing technology, the high stakes rivalry between the U.S. and China, and the conduct of spycraft in the digital age.

Join New America NYC for a conversation with David Ignatius and Karen Greenberg on the fictional tale of cyber espionage—and what it tells us about the real-world threats with which national security policy must contend.

PARTICIPANTS

David Ignatius @IgnatiusPost
Columnist, The Washington Post

Author, The Director and The Quantum Spy

Karen Greenberg @KarenGreenberg3
Director, Center on National Security, Fordham University School of Law
Author, Rogue Justice: The Making of the Security State