It's the first time quantum has been used to fight cyber crime, and if it works, it could reshape how security analysts protect their networks from harm.

In the computers we use every day, a "bit" of information stores either a "1" or a "0," and that's how all of our data is encoded. Quantum computing deviates by using quantum-mechanical properties, like entanglement and superposition, to store a 1 or 0 simultaneously in a unit called a "qubit." With more data per qubit, quantum machines can theoretically compute exponentially faster than current systems.

But quantum computers are difficult to build, and the ones that exist are still limited compared to the theoretical potential of the field. The devices need to be isolated from all types of interference like vibrations or radio waves, so the qubits can maintain their quantum mechanical state without "decohering"—losing their special properties and instead exhibiting classical mechanical traits.