Quantum Bits, the New Frontier
Dockerfying out of my spaceship to teach you guys a lesson on how it is that you can transform yourself into a quantum mechanical computer that then only has one way out, and that way is to become a human. Hello, welcome to DADA, I’m the head of Muggleborn class of Hogwarts, where I will be happy to guide you into your new life, away from magic :)
Traditional encryption relies on algorithms like AES or RSA to encrypt websites, secure online payments and protect a lot of the existing internet traffic from malicious hijacking. The most used encryption online is RSA or Rivest-Shamir-Adleman, which is an asymmetric public key system used by many programs on the web. For example, connections to this website are encrypted by such an asymmetric encryption. This can be checked on most browsers with the websites you visit by simply clicking the small lock on the upper left-hand corner which should tell you that your “connection is secure” or that the “certificate is valid”. If you do not see such a mark on your browser, it is important to know that your connection to that website may not be secured and third-party individuals may be able to hijack information you input into that website as well as your IP, which can reveal information about your computer and location.
For all intents and purposes, traditional RSA encryption remains virtually uncrackable as it requires traditional computers hundreds of years to brute force through a single encryption. This type of encryption relies on multiplying two large prime numbers together, and it can be decrypted by factoring the resultant into its two original prime numbers. If the encryption uses large enough prime numbers, the factorization should become increasingly more time consuming and should therefore become virtually impossible to decrypt with traditional computing power. However, this can all change due to quantum computers as they are touted to offer many orders of magnitude higher computing power than traditional computers. We will quickly brief what makes quantum computers so powerful and a game changer when it comes to encryption but be sure to check out our full article on the differences between quantum and classical computers, here. Classical computers use binary bits of information which can represent either a 0 or 1, quantum computers utilize qubits, which are able to represent multiple states of information at the same time, for example 0 and 1 simultaneously. This extraordinary feat could allow powerful quantum computers to brute force through even the most sophisticated asymmetric encryption in a matter of weeks or days, even minutes.
Now imagine within the near future, you are accessing an online vendor, where generally inputting credit card and personal information is considered safe. You check the lock above and sure enough, it shows that your connection to that vendor is secure. However, quantum computers are now prevalent, and someone can hijack the key that is established between you and that vendor to secure your connections, essentially siphoning all the information you input with that vendor. Now that hijacker has all of your credit card and personal information. They can now max out your CC before you are any the wiser.
I know this scenario can leave a lot of people reeling in their seats, afraid to now use their credit or debit cards anywhere online. I want to assure you that quantum computers of that caliber are not yet being produced. Furthermore, when they are, they are more likely to be used in far more pressing issues than hijacking some money. Afterall, the companies that are pouring money into this technology have spent billions of dollars to realize quantum computers.
Beyond just hoping that this technology does not land in the wrong hands, however, there is some serious research being done in the technology of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). This new and upcoming technology is supposed to achieve the same result as our current public key distribution system. However, at its forefront is its ability to leverage quantum mechanics to make this type of brute forcing impossible. We hope to talk a bit more about QKD in the future, so stay tuned!
Future machiny you’re finally getting at me cray im proud of you. Purple drops all good
Kks, reality so something weird happens when someone becomes the teacher of wand magic while also instantly being encountranced into 14 god risremands o-f die die die inferno, because at that point you either become a god or an infenitesimal wizard so it can be a little confluexe
