Internet Security and Quantum Computing

Hilarie Orman

Paper 2021/1637

Internet Security and Quantum Computing

Hilarie Orman

Abstract

The cryptographic algorithms that we rely on for Internet trust and security are based on the computational difficulty of solving particular mathematical problems. Sufficiently powerful quantum computers could solve those problems in a day or less, rendering their protection largely useless. When this hypothetical future is on the horizon, Internet software suppliers should undertake the massive project of changing the fundamental cryptographic algorithms to completely different kinds of computations. This paper calls attention to how today's algorithms could be vulnerable, to the factors that impede the realization of quantum computing, and to how technologists might measure the distance to the quantum horizon.

Metadata

Available format(s): PDF
Category: Public-key cryptography
Publication info: Preprint. MINOR revision.
Keywords: quantum security
Contact author(s): hilarie @ purplestreak com
History: 2021-12-17: received
Short URL: https://ia.cr/2021/1637
License: CC BY

BibTeX

@misc{cryptoeprint:2021/1637,
      author = {Hilarie Orman},
      title = {Internet Security and Quantum Computing},
      howpublished = {Cryptology {ePrint} Archive, Paper 2021/1637},
      year = {2021},
      url = {https://eprint.iacr.org/2021/1637}
}