Q-day. The day when quantum computing can break modern communication encryption keys as we know it. All of this is possible within a decade.
The advent of quantum computers will allow us to solve complex problems in seconds. It will change the fields of healthcare, data analysis, drug development, defense, and even cybersecurity. But in the hands of unscrupulous hackers, this cutting-edge piece of hardware may just mean the end of the internet.
What does this mean for a world that is heavily reliant on current encryption and cybersecurity protocols? How will banks function? How will this affect geopolitics and warfare?
Quantum computers are inevitable. Addressing the potential dangers that come with it is important if not necessary.
Can quantum computing bypass the cybersecurity firewall?
Quantum computers are expected to outperform even the most advanced supercomputer that exists today.
This means that all our current encryption protocols are in danger, such as:
· RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman),
· ECDSA (Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm),
· DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm),
· Diffie-Hellman key agreement protocol.
Even though the threat posed by hackers using quantum computers may seem distant, we need to get ready right now. Hackers can collect encryption data now, and decrypt it later as technology becomes sufficiently advanced. Once quantum computers become viable, that is.
What is the danger here?
Quantum computers can theoretically brute force algorithms capable of breaking modern public key encryption. This works by coming up with all possible keys, until you discover one that just works. It takes time depending on how many bits your encryption key has.
That means your emails, chats, banking transactions, or any other online activity can be sniffed out and captured by unscrupulous elements – especially, identity thieves and cybercriminals.
That’s a worrisome prospect.
What is being done to protect your online security?
Much of today’s encryption is based on mathematical formulas that would take far too long to decode on modern computers.
To make it simpler for you:
- In 2002, a symmetric 64-bit key was broken, a process that relied on more than 300,000 people over 4.5 years!
- Comparatively, a symmetric 128-bit key would take more than 300 decillion attempts and trillions of years from the fastest supercomputer right now.
Fun fact: RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) encryption, which is widely used for sending sensitive data over the internet, is based on 2048-bit numbers. Experts estimate that breaking that encryption would require a quantum computer with up to 70 million qubits.
Modern computers rely on bits as a processing unit. Quantum computers will be relying on qubits. Qubits are exponentially more complex and faster than bits.
The more the qubits, the harder it is to break the encryption code.
Right now, researchers are reviewing and improving several dozen different algorithms to replace the existing ones.
How did we arrive at this point?
It was mathematician Peter Shor who laid the groundwork for this in 1994. He created a quantum algorithm (aptly named Shor’s Algorithm) that can factor large numbers much faster than a traditional computer. Scientists have been working on developing quantum computers that can factor increasingly large numbers since then.
Shor laid the groundwork for the demise of many existing algorithms just as the number of Internet users worldwide — and the use of public-key cryptosystems such as RSA — was beginning to grow exponentially.
In 1994, he demonstrated how a quantum computer could factor large numbers into primes exponentially faster than a classical computer. Shor’s quantum algorithm includes a step that can efficiently break an elliptic-curve key.
Shor’s quantum algorithm was not the first, but it was the first to demonstrate that quantum computers could solve practical problems. It was mostly a theoretical exercise at the time, because quantum computers were still a pipe dream for physicists.
Nevertheless, following Shor’s breakthrough, the crypto-research community began to pay attention to the possibility of a Q-day. Researchers had already been looking into alternative public-key algorithms, and the news drew a lot of attention to the field.
What are the dangers of quantum computers?
Hackers with quantum computers can potentially break:
1. RSA encryption, which is commonly used for public key encryption/decryption.
2. Symmetric key encryption, which is used in many popular algorithms including AES and DES.
3. Many cryptographic protocols including SSL/TLS and SSH.
4. Numerical algorithms, including those used in financial modeling and machine learning.
5. Decision-making algorithms including those used in logistics and operations research.
6. Simulated physical systems that could be used to design new materials, or to study complex systems.
Fortunately, governments, scientists and industry experts are already working towards developing quantum-resistant solutions. Next-generation applications will be increasingly making use of quantum-resistant keys to safeguard their data, while organizations work towards upgrading to better hardware. As they say, prevention is better than the cure, and it’s time we act fast.
PureVPN
June 20, 2023
10 months ago
