IBM Warns Quantum Computing Will Break Encryption (zdnet.com)

Long-time Slashdot reader CrtxReavr shares a report from ZDNet: Quantum computers will be able to instantly break the encryption of sensitive data protected by today's strongest security, warns the head of IBM Research. This could happen in a little more than five years because of advances in quantum computer technologies. "Anyone that wants to make sure that their data is protected for longer than 10 years should move to alternate forms of encryption now," said Arvind Krishna, director of IBM Research... Quantum computers can solve some types of problems near-instantaneously compared with billions of years of processing using conventional computers... Advances in novel materials and in low-temperature physics have led to many breakthroughs in the quantum computing field in recent years, and large commercial quantum computer systems will soon be viable and available within five years...

In addition to solving tough computing problems, quantum computers could save huge amounts of energy, as server farms proliferate and applications such as bitcoin grow in their compute needs. Each computation takes just a few watts, yet it could take several server farms to accomplish if it were run on conventional systems.
The original submission raises another possibility. "What I wonder is, if encryption can be 'instantly broken,' does this also mean that remaining crypto-coins can be instantly discovered?"

Comments

crypto-coins?

[DogDude]

What I wonder is, if encryption can be 'instantly broken,' does this also mean that remaining crypto-coins can be instantly discovered?

This could theoretically be the biggest breakthrough in computing since transistors, and this person is wondering about how it's going to affect Monopoly money? Jesus.

Re:crypto-coins?

[FrankSchwab]

You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?

You've got all the right words there, but completely the wrong concepts behind them. You do realize that ALL of the data shipped around via HTTPS is encrypted with symmetric algorithms, right? And that asymmetric algorithms are used to create and agree on the symmetric keys to be used for communications, right?

Re:crypto-coins?

[Joce640k]

You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?

You've got all the right words there, but completely the wrong concepts behind them. You do realize that ALL of the data shipped around via HTTPS is encrypted with symmetric algorithms, right?

It's almost as if you don't know that HTTPS relies on signed certificates for authentication...

Re:crypto-coins?

[Anonymous Coward]

You do realize that ALL of the data shipped around via HTTPS is encrypted with symmetric algorithms, right? And that asymmetric algorithms are used to create and agree on the symmetric keys to be used for communications, right?

Except for the keys when not using Diffie-Hellman, which lets you break the whole thing. An the trust validation is done based on RSA/ECC signatures, so you could just crack the root cert and use it to sign whatever keys you want, letting you break the whole thing. If you want to try to sound smart, you should probably know what you're talking about first.

Re:crypto-coins?

[ZorinLynx]

With the rate that crypto-currency mining is wasting energy, breaking blockchain might be a very good thing for our future.

Re:crypto-coins?

[thegarbz]

It might break blockchain, yes, but, like, who cares?

I care. The sooner we can break blockchain the sooner we can stop the insane amount of wasted energy we are pouring into this retarded tulip and go back to reducing the world's energy consumption like we were doing before this stupidity infected us.

Kinda like fusion....

[jythie]

I am thinking back to the saying 'AI, like fusion, has been 10 years away for 30 years now'. I think that quote was from the 60s or 70s, so add a few decades. The earth shattering predictions for quantum computers have been around for a while and they are always 'just about to be realized', but even today it is cheaper to emulate quantum computers on traditional machines than to actually build and use them. It is questionable, given advances in traditional semi-conductors, if it will EVER be cheaper to use quantum computing, even for the tasks it is best suited for.

Alt encryption owned by IBM

[DalM]

Of course the alternate encryption like that which IBM recommend happens to be owned by IBM. Better buy in now!

IBM is known as

[zaphirplane]

The company that sheds jobs, non stop revenue door and off shoring jobs
Their insights are marketing equivalent of click bait