The New World of Cybersecurity
Points to note…
+ Like many emerging technologies, quantum computing brings both new opportunities and new challenges. While fully functioning quantum computers aren’t quite a reality yet, technology companies are starting to produce quantum computing offerings such as algorithms which can speed up business processes.
Due to its speed, there are also concerns about whether quantum computing could affect the security of Blockchain. To keep Blockchain reliable and safe for the era of quantum supremacy, it must be re-designed in a post-quantum perspective.
+ Last year, Google announced that its quantum computer offering, Sycamore, had achieved ‘quantum supremacy’, which means proving a quantum device can solve a problem that no normal computer can solve in a reasonable amount of time. Specifically, Google claimed that Sycamore had supremacy over IBM’s Summit, the most powerful supercomputer in the world. While IBM subsequently cast doubt on this claim, it’s clear quantum supremacy is no longer just a theory and well on its way to becoming a reality.
+ But that same capability could render some of the most cutting-edge security technologies useless. With an ability to solve problems much faster than classical computers, quantum computers could also quickly break the most commonly used encryption, RSA, which relies on a mathematical problem of prime numbers that regular binary computers cannot easily process.
+ This encryption, which could take a traditional computer hundreds of thousands of years to break (or possibly couldn’t be cracked at all), could be broken instantly by a quantum computer. While this is a concern right now, it could ultimately be a good thing for the progression of cyber security. Computer scientists can use quantum technology to develop more secure offerings that even the mighty quantum computer cannot crack.
Source: ITPro. ITPro., The New World of Cybersecurity…
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