If you are anything like me then you may be wondering, what the heck is quantum computing? Let's take a step back and explain this in simple terms. Think of traditional computers like really fast and efficient librarians. They organize and retrieve information using bits, which are like tiny light switches that can be either off (0) or on (1).
Now, quantum computers are like magical librarians who can juggle multiple books at once. Instead of bits, they use qubits, which can be both 0 and 1 at the same time thanks to superposition (the ability for qubits to exist in multiple places at once). Superposition allows quantum computers to process lots of possibilities simultaneously.
Additionally, qubits can be entangled, meaning the state of one qubit can depend on another, no matter how far apart they are. This allows quantum computers to solve certain problems much faster than traditional computers.
In short, quantum computing is a new way of processing information that takes advantage of the strange laws of quantum mechanics, enabling faster and more complex problem-solving.
Backing up more - Encryption
Encryption, the process of converting readable information or data into unreadable code using an algorithm and key, is the most widely used security method in the world for safeguarding digital data. Common encryption standards consist of:
- AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) - A symmetric encryption standard that comes in key sizes of 128, 192, and 256 bits. This is commonly used for securing data in transit and at rest.
- RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) - An asymmetric encryption algorithm used primarily for secure data transmission. It relies on the mathematical difficulty of factoring large prime numbers.
- ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) - Another asymmetric encryption method that offers similar security to RSA but with smaller key sizes, making it more efficient.
- TLS (Transport Layer Security) - A protocol that uses various encryption algorithms (including AES and RSA) to secure communications over networks, such as the internet.
All of these encryption standards were created without the consideration of quantum computing and its capabilities. Classical computing would take a substantial amount of time to break the encryption standards listed above. To give insight into what I mean by “substantial”, it would take anywhere from billions of years to the lifetime of the universe to crack AES encryption, depending on the bit key size. RSA can take thousands of years to crack, and ECC falls shortly behind. That being said, our current encryption standards are highly secure against classical computing.
How quantum computing differs from classical computing regarding breaking encryption
With the introduction and growth of quantum computing this reality is facing devastating changes. As opposed to a thousand years, quantum computing has the potential to break RSA and ECC encryption within hours or even minutes (depending on the size and power of the quantum computer). AES encryption remains the most secure out of the three, but quantum computers still have the ability to crack this in a fraction of the time that classical computers can.
So, what now?
In recent news, a team of researchers in China have reported that they successfully broke RSA encryption using quantum computing machines from D-Wave, a company that specializes in quantum computing. There have been ongoing efforts to create new encryption standards that take quantum computing into account, yet until now, this threat was not nearly as imminent. Creating these new encryption standards are more important than ever, or quantum computing can expose a world's worth of encrypted, sensitive data.
Read this abstract from the Chinese Journal of Computers to learn more about the encryption-breaking research.