How Quantum Computers Break The Internet... Starting Now
Veritasium・20 minutes read
Nation states and individual actors are adopting Store Now, Decrypt Later (SNDL) strategies to store encrypted data like passwords and bank details for future decryption using quantum computers, which are expected to break current encryption within the next 10 to 20 years. Quantum computers use qubits for parallel computation, posing a threat to traditional encryption methods, leading to the development of new cryptography resistant to quantum decryption, such as lattice-based algorithms selected by NIST.
Insights
- Nation states and individual actors are storing encrypted data for future decryption using quantum computers, which are expected to break encryption within the next 10 to 20 years, leading to a shift towards new cryptography resistant to quantum decryption.
- Quantum computers leverage qubits and the quantum Fourier transform to factor large numbers efficiently, posing a threat to traditional encryption methods like RSA, prompting the development of new encryption algorithms based on lattice mathematics to counter this vulnerability.
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Recent questions
What is the threat posed by quantum computers to current encryption methods?
Quantum computers can break encryption in minutes, leading to the need for new cryptography resistant to quantum decryption.
How does RSA encryption work?
RSA encryption uses two prime numbers to create a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.
What is the significance of quantum Fourier transform in quantum computing?
Quantum Fourier transform enables the extraction of frequency information from periodic superpositions, crucial for quantum computing.
How do quantum computers factor large numbers faster than classical computers?
Quantum computers find the exponent that yields a remainder of one more than a multiple of the number, speeding up the process crucial for factoring large numbers.
What advancements have been made in quantum computing to break RSA encryption?
Advancements have reduced the number of physical qubits needed to break RSA encryption, prompting the need for new encryption algorithms resistant to quantum computers.
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Summary
00:00
Quantum Computers Threaten Encryption Security
- Nation states and individual actors are storing encrypted data like passwords and bank details for future decryption using quantum computers.
- The process, known as Store Now, Decrypt Later (SNDL), is based on the belief that quantum computers will break encryption in minutes within the next 10 to 20 years.
- Quantum computers pose a threat to current encryption methods, leading the US Congress to mandate a transition to new cryptography resistant to quantum decryption.
- Traditional encryption involved symmetric key algorithms where a shared secret key was used for encryption and decryption.
- RSA encryption, developed in 1977, uses two prime numbers to create a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.
- Modern cryptography relies on prime numbers around 313 digits long, making decryption with supercomputers infeasible.
- Quantum computers use qubits that can exist in multiple states simultaneously, allowing for parallel computation of multiple answers.
- Quantum Fourier transform enables the extraction of frequency information from periodic superpositions, crucial for quantum computing.
- Quantum computers can factor large numbers faster by finding the exponent that yields a remainder of one more than a multiple of the number.
- Quantum computers speed up the process of finding this exponent, crucial for factoring large numbers, making them significantly more efficient than classical computers.
14:36
Quantum Computing Breaks RSA Encryption: Advancements & Competition
- Dividing by N and storing the remainder in the second set of qubits entangles two sets of qubits, creating a superposition of numbers and remainders.
- To avoid obtaining a random value, only measure the remainder part of the superposition, leading to multiple occurrences of the same remainder.
- Measuring the remainder results in a superposition of states sharing the same remainder, with exponents separated by the same amount.
- Applying the quantum Fourier transform to the superposition yields states containing one over R, simplifying the process.
- Using the remainder to manipulate a bad guess G into two numbers sharing factors with N, allowing for decryption using Euclid's algorithm.
- Advancements in quantum computing have reduced the number of physical qubits needed to break RSA encryption over the years.
- NIST initiated a competition to find new encryption algorithms resistant to quantum computers, selecting four based on lattice mathematics, which involve finding the closest lattice point using specific vectors.
