IBM Quantum and Microsoft have formed a consortium with non-profit research institute MITER, British cryptography company PQShield, Google sibling SandboxAQ and the University of Waterloo to jointly solve the problem of post-quantum cryptography.
We are honored to be part of a new community of cybersecurity organizations to accelerate the adoption of post-quantum cryptography in commercial and open source technologies.
Learn more about #PQC alliance.
| #QWC2023 #University of Waterloo pic.twitter.com/vXG6CilQVx
— University of Waterloo (@UWaterloo) September 26, 2023
Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) addresses the potential threats posed by future quantum computers. Current cryptographic schemes rely on mathematical problems to thwart decryption attempts.
It is nearly impossible to break or bypass this encryption with a conventional computer.some experts estimate It would take a binary computer system approximately 300 trillion years to crack a 1,024-bit or 2,048-bit RSA key.
Named after the computer scientist who first discussed it, RSA is largely considered the encryption standard.
In theory, however, a quantum computer with sufficient hardware and architecture should be able to rest RSA and similar encryption schemes take only weeks, days, or even hours to complete.
according to MITER’s press release:
“Preparing for the PQC transition includes developing algorithm standards; creating safe, reliable, and efficient implementations of these algorithms; and integrating new post-quantum algorithms into cryptographic libraries and protocols.”
Technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies that rely on mathematical encryption may be particularly vulnerable to decryption attacks by future theoretical quantum computers. However, it is unclear how long it would take for such a threat to materialize.
related: Scientists warn ‘quantum revolution’ could stunt economic growth
a study, implement In 2022, it was determined that a quantum computer with 300 million qubits (a very common measure of a quantum system’s potential processing power) would be needed to crack the Bitcoin blockchain fast enough to cause any damage. By comparison, today’s most advanced quantum computers average just over 100 qubits.
However, based on the architecture described in the paper, more advanced qubit arrangements, chipsets and optimization algorithms could significantly change the calculus involved and exponentially reduce the theoretical 300 million qubit requirement . As a result, the global technology community is turning to quantum-safe encryption.
National Institute of Standards and Technology chosen Four post-quantum encryption algorithms proposed in 2022: CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, SPHINCS+ and Falcon are candidate algorithms for the PQC security encryption standard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecvCfTPPRBrI
August 24, 2023, NIST declare Three of the algorithms have been accepted for standardization, and the fourth algorithm, Falcon, is expected to follow in 2024.
Now that these algorithms have been accepted and (mostly) standardized, the consortium will begin its mission to leverage the deep knowledge and practical experience accumulated by its members to ensure that security services for critical institutions such as governments, banks, telecommunications, and transportation can evolve from current encryption Transition to post-quantum encryption.
Svlook
