Communications of the ACM
Tanja Lange Leads Multi-Million Euro Project to Protect Data Against Quantum Computers
Tanja Lange, professor of cryptology at the Eindhoven University of Technology, warns it might be too late to protect data against quantum computers.
Credit: Bart van Overbeeke
Eindhoven University of Technology cryptology professor Tanja Lange is leading a European project to protect data against quantum computers, but warns it might be too late.
Large quantum computers are expected to be built some time after 2025, and they will enable new types of attacks. Current methods of protection such as RSA and ECC use keys that will still be unbroken in 100 years with current computer technology, but quantum computers could potentially crack these systems in a matter of days, if not hours.
"It takes 15 to 20 years to introduce and standardize new cryptosystems and we are still in the research phase," Lange says.
Spy agencies, which are not likely to announce they have successfully built quantum computers, could make matters worse, especially those that record all messages, including encrypted ones from the past.
Lange suggests deploying post-quantum cryptography to encrypt data with confidentiality requirements of more than 10 years, such as health records or top-secret documents. The PQCRYPTO project Lange is leading is focusing on securing small devices, data storage in the cloud, and the Internet.
From Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands)
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