Quantum computers will break the encryption that protects the internet within a decade

Quantum computers will be able to instantly break the encryption of sensitive data protected by today’s strongest security, warns the National Security Experts. This could happen in a little more than five years because of advances in quantum computer technologies. “Anyone that wants to make sure that their data is protected for longer than 10 years should move to alternate forms of encryption now.

With quantum computing advancements threatening to expose all encrypted data, technology companies and security agencies are pursuing their own projects to preserve information safety.

Experts warned that a foreign power with a sufficiently powerful quantum system could hack the Internet’s core nodes, and intercept and decrypt Web traffic in transit.

Scientists, companies, and federal agencies are working on new safeguards, like quantum-safe encryption algorithms; one strategy, lattice encryption, would encode data in a multidimensional “lattice.”

The good news is that quantum-safe cryptography works today. And the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently running a process to evaluate and standardize one or more quantum-resistant public-key technologies.

Reference:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-race-to-save-encryption-11559646737

https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/Post-Quantum-Cryptography