How will quantum computers affect cryptography?

Quantum computers will have a major impact on cryptography. Cryptography is a method that protects communication and data via the use of codes. Thus, the only ones with authorized access can read or process it. On the contrary, quantum computing is a brand new way of computing. In the conventional computer, the crucial information particle called the bit can solely exist in 0 state or 1 state and the quantum computers benefit from the subatomic particles in more than one state simultaneously.

It is a fact that encryption is the most crucial thing currently, especially those that are based on the “public key” model. These are responsible for protecting most of the electronic transactions. It has seriously transformed the privacy of information and has benefited the entire globe by permitting online business, encrypted conversations, and banking as well as finance accessibility.

Unfortunately, quantum computers will soon be able to decrypt the existing public-key encryption. These technologies possess the capabilities to break the code variants and are on the way. Owing to their expedited evolution, they have become a serious concern amongst the corporates and seek an immediate solution.

Asymmetric encryption, most commonly termed as the public key encryption usually depends on a number of mathematical algorithms that are very complex to be broken, specifically when using an encryption key of a heavy size such as RSA-2048 or ECDSA-256. Thus, even with the help of a massive amount of computing power, it might take a huge amount of time to make sure that the cryptography will be broken.

It is the fact that the quantum decoding might work retrospectively and will further increase the concern. The attackers might also begin acquiring the encrypted information from the organizations at the moment and decrypt them later. Once the quantum computers mature, the organizations might unknowingly be the prey of the attackers and face several repercussions. The major problem is that no one is capable of understanding the method they can implement to create cryptographic techniques that are completely quantum computer resistant.

However, the best part is that some organizations are noticing this and trying to fix the issue at the earliest. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has started developing the next level of encryption.

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