Levka"‘It’s a real shock’: quantum-computing breakthroughs pose imminent risks to cybersecurity
Two analyses suggest that quantum computers could crack ubiquitous security keys and cryptocurrencies before the decade is over.
The world could be caught off guard by quantum hackers before the end of this decade — much sooner than previously expected. This is the take-home message of two preprint studies posted independently on 31 March, one by a team at Google1 and the other by Oratomic2, a start-up company in Pasadena, California.
Digital technologies relying on encryption and authentication methods — such as credit card systems, cryptocurrencies and Internet communications — have long been known to be vulnerable to future quantum computers capable of cracking security measures faster than even the largest conventional supercomputers can.
But the assumption among researchers and cybersecurity companies working on quantum-proof encryption technologies has been that these machines would not become a serious threat to digital security for at least ten years.
The preprints, both of which suggest that quantum computers capable of cracking current encryption systems could soon become available, have created a sense of 'renewed urgency', says Jintai Ding, a mathematician at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The findings have prompted 'many discussions among people I know, ranging from academics to bankers and to people who care about cryptocurrencies', says Ding.
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