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Keeping Secrets in a Quantum World


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The D-wave Systems Advantage quantum computer at the Jlich Research Centre in Germany.

Even if practical quantum computers aren’t built for another 20 years, the data-encryption problem is urgent today, researchers say.

Credit: Lukas Schulze/Getty

Cryptographers are working on data-encryption schemes strong enough to withstand attacks from future quantum computers. Current quantum computers contain a few hundred qubits at most, with plans from IBM to roll out a 1,121-qubit chip this year and a computer with more than 4,000 qubits by 2025.

However, researchers at Google and the Swedish National Communications Security Authority said cracking an RSA key of 2,048 bits would require an estimated 20 million qubits.

NIST released draft standards for three quantum-resistant algorithms for potential adoption in 2024, but put out a call for new submissions earlier this year.

Tanja Lange of the Netherlands' Eindhoven University said, "They are sort of sending the message that they are not happy with the three that they have."

From Nature
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Abstracts Copyright © 2023 SmithBucklin, Washington, D.C., USA


 

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