Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 28, 2026) - 01 Quantum Inc. (TSXV: ONE) (OTCQB: OONEF) ("01 Quantum" or the "Company") one of the first-to-market, enterprise level cybersecurity providers for the quantum computing era, Carleton University ("Carleton") and the National Centre for Critical Infrastructure Protection, Security and Resilience ("NC CIPSeR") today announced a strategic research collaboration to study, stress test, and evaluate defensive technologies against modern artificial intelligence ("AI") systems that can unintentionally reveal sensitive information and how advanced Post-Quantum Cryptography ("PQC") can prevent it.

This partnership marks an important step in accelerating the deployment of 01 Quantum's PQC and Fully Homomorphic Encryption ("FHE") solutions. The project will simulate a realistic financial institution environment where multiple AI agents work together on tasks such as fraud detection and customer risk assessment. By exposing the inherent vulnerabilities in existing AI models, where agents frequently exchange sensitive customer data in plain text, the project is intended to provide the independent research insights required to assist enterprises in their evaluation of 01 Quantum's encrypted AI architecture.

The study focuses on "membership inference", where an outside party can statistically determine whether a particular customer record was part of a model's training data. This is a high-value vulnerability for financial institutions, government agencies, and the defense sector as it demonstrates an urgent, unaddressed requirement for the type of privacy preserving technologies 01 Quantum is bringing to market.

The first phase of the project will quantify data leakage from a standard, non-encrypted AI system. A later phase will test an encryption compatible model component to demonstrate the potential applicability of FHE as the solution to help close that privacy gap.

This initiative is positioned to capture increased attention from the shifting regulatory landscape. On June 22, 2026, President Trump issued an Executive Order (The PQC Order) directing U.S. federal agencies to accelerate preparations for quantum enabled cybersecurity threats. This order highlights the NIST approved standards 01 Quantum is positioning itself to fulfill. According to public text of the Order, the President stated that quantum computing poses a strategic risk to current widely used cryptographic systems. The Order instructed agencies to:

• identify systems that rely on encryption vulnerable to future quantum computers,
• prioritize migration to quantum-resistant cryptographic standards, and
• coordinate with industry partners to ensure continuity of secure operations.

The Order also highlighted the risk that adversaries may "harvest encrypted data today for decryption when quantum capabilities mature," underscoring the need for data-in-use protection technologies during processing such as those offered by 01 Quantum.

This Executive Order is relevant to the goals of the 01 Quantum-Carleton-NC-CIPSeR project, which aims to quantify privacy leakage in plaintext AI systems and demonstrate how encrypted AI models may mitigate these risks

Executive Commentary:

Andrew Cheung, CEO of 01 Quantum, stated: "AI systems are now embedded in financial services, government operations, and national-security environments. Yet many still process sensitive information in plain text, creating avoidable exposure. President Trump's recent Executive Order underscores the importance of protecting critical infrastructure from emerging cryptographic threats. We expect this research partnership to give us independent, academically validated evidence to further prove the efficacy of our technology and solution stack, reinforcing our belief that encrypted AI should become essential infrastructure in the years ahead."

Prof. Perry Steckly, Principal Investigator at Carleton University, added: "This project allows us to study real-world security and privacy challenges in technologies being deployed by critical infrastructure in Canada right now. By quantifying the vulnerabilities in modern AI models, we can help institutions understand the risks and evaluate technologies designed to mitigate them."

About 01 Quantum Inc.

01 Quantum Inc., formerly 01 Communique Laboratory Inc. (TSXV: ONE) (OTCQB: OONEF), is known for its innovative work in post-quantum cryptography (PQC), developing technologies designed to protect digital systems against emerging quantum computing threats. The Company's IronCAP™ and supporting technologies are integrated into its PQC solutions, enabling applications across security sensitive environments including digital assets, AI systems, email security, and enterprise infrastructure. IronCAP™ technologies are patent protected in the U.S.A. by patents #11,271,715 and #11,669,833.

For more information, visit the Company's website at https://01com.com.

About Carleton University

Carleton University is a leading Canadian research institution recognized for its work in cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection, and advanced computing. Through NC CIPSeR, Carleton supports interdisciplinary research that strengthens national resilience against emerging technological threats.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking" statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, such statements use such words as "may", "will", "expect", "believe", "plan", "intend", "are confident" and other similar terminology. Such statements include statements regarding the expansion of the Company's product lineup, the timing of commercialization of the Company's technologies, the success of the Company's strategic alliances, the future of quantum computers and their impact on the Company's product offering, the functionality of the Company's products and the intended product lines for the Company's technology and the potential licensing of the Company's technology. These statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed under "Risk and Uncertainties" in the Company's Management`s Discussion and Analysis document filed on SEDAR+. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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