The US government is responsible for developing and testing new post-quantum encryption technology.
On Tuesday, a US government agency listed four technologies it believes will keep computer data secure when quantum computers mature enough to crack today’s encryption technology.
Scientists have demonstrated that if current quantum computer progress continues for long enough, quantum computers may overcome standard encryption systems. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has searched for post-quantum cryptography technology to safeguard such data
Two of the four technologies chosen by the national institution are projected to be more widely employed.
One, known as Crystals-Kyber, is used to create digital credentials that two computers may use to communicate encrypted data. The other, Crystals-Dilithium, is used to sign encrypted data to determine who submitted it. It will likely take two years for the ideas to become standardized enough to be used in today’s software and hardware.
Quantum computers are constantly improving, but it will likely take years to develop dependable and robust devices to defeat encryption. Regardless, strengthening encryption is an essential need right now. It takes years to develop new encryption algorithms, certify their safety, and extensively deploy them. And government agencies and hackers can capture today’s critical information in the hope of cracking it later when the data is still valid.
“We believe 10 to 15 years is a broadly held position on attack timelines,” said Duncan Jones, head of cybersecurity for Quantinuum, a quantum computer hardware and software producer. However, if there was a “hack now, decode later” option, the attack may have already begun.
Quantum computers might potentially harm cryptocurrencies, which utilize current cryptographic technologies.