Op Ed: Crypto Agility and Quantum Computing; The Time is Now, Ten Years from Now, or Never
Op Ed: Quantum Computing, Crypto Agility and Future Readiness
Excerpts and salient points ~
+ Quantum computing is a completely different ball game. Quantum computers work in a radically different way and could solve problems that classical computers won’t be able to solve for hundreds of years, even if Moore’s law continues. Stated differently, quantum computers don’t follow the same rules of classical computing and are in a league of their own. This does not mean that quantum computers can solve all computationally hard problems. However, there are problems for which quantum computers are able to achieve extraordinary speedups.
Being more crypto-agile will enable you to respond faster to such changes and to be ahead of the market when new cryptography is introduced (whether it be for classic security systems or for cryptocurrencies and blockchains).
+ The big question that still has not been answered, despite what you may have read, is whether or not such quantum computers will ever be built. I want to stress that this is still an “if” and not a “when.” The fact that small quantum computers have been built does not mean that quantum computers at the scale and accuracy needed to break cryptography will ever be built. The problems that need to be overcome are considerable. I am not saying that I don’t think they will succeed; I’m just saying that it’s not a certainty.
+ There are two main aspects to crypto agility. The first is how easily it is possible to change code so that one cryptosystem is replaced with another. The more the specific structure of the cryptosystem is relied upon in the code, the harder it will be to replace. The second is how to make this change while preserving backward compatibility and without introducing new vulnerabilities that can happen when new and old versions operate concurrently.
Source: BITCOIN MAGAZINE. Yehuda Lindell, Op Ed: Quantum Computing, Crypto Agility and Future Readiness…
Content may have been edited for style and clarity.