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Hi, I’m Matthias, co-founder of Tuta, a secure email service. We are innovation leaders in encrypted communication and collaboration.

The world is changing at a faster pace than ever, particularly in tech. While this can be incredibly exciting, many advancements also come with great challenges. Quantum computers are a perfect example. These extremely powerful computing machines will not only bring benefits to the tech world but also threaten the security backbone we all rely on every day: encryption.

Without us noticing, encryption is all around us when using the internet. Just ask yourself: Have you ever sent a secret message, transferred money online or communicated with your local authority? Most likely, encryption was involved.

Our lives are intertwined with the internet, and our most personal information is transmitted through networks. Everything from our bank accounts to our medical records to our private emails is vulnerable to prying eyes.

Threat To Every Message

Now, imagine a world where your digital life is at risk along with a whole new breed of cybercriminals and state actors armed with the power of quantum computers. To put it in simple terms: Quantum computers are like superheroes on steroids. Their unimaginable processing power, capable of solving problems that would take classical computers thousands of years to crack, will bring one huge problem: These superheroes can break the very foundations of modern encryption.

Widely used encryption algorithms like RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography (ECC) will be pointless. Depending on who is running the quantum computers, they will turn from superhero to supervillain. Encrypted emails, file sharing and text messages—all of these secure ways of asynchronous communication will become completely insecure with the advancement of quantum computers.

For instance, email as we know it, is like sending a postcard in the open air. Anyone with the right tools and skills can intercept and read your messages, potentially exposing your deepest secrets or sensitive information. While we can protect this communication with encrypted email solutions available today, this will become impossible once quantum computers are a reality.

The problem is that the encryption algorithms used today to secure asymmetric communication rely on variants of only two difficult mathematical problems that, unfortunately, quantum computers can solve significantly faster: the integer factorization problem and the discrete logarithm problem.

Hope Is On The Horizon

But there’s hope: Cryptography experts around the world are already exploring ways for post-quantum secure encryption with completely new algorithms, for instance, Kyber.

How Does Post-Quantum Encryption Work?

Post-quantum encryption is like asking Magneto to untie a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded. The time and resources required to break this encryption would be astronomical.

Post-quantum secure encryption is our shield against a digital crisis. It can be used to keep our digital lives safe and secure. With this technology, we can continue to communicate, collaborate and live in the digital world with confidence—even if traditional algorithms currently used for encryption are less relevant.

Post-Quantum Algorithms

While traditional encryption algorithms, such as RSA or ECC, are vulnerable to quantum attacks, post-quantum cryptography keeps these attacks in mind.The U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently in the final steps of defining the new standard algorithms for post-quantum secure encryption.

The NIST standardization process is in the fourth phase, with the first four quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms—CRYSTALS-Kyber for encryption and CRYSTALS-Dilithium, FALCON and SPHINCS+ for digital signatures—already being announced by NIST.

These post-quantum algorithms are built on different mathematical foundations than our current encryption methods. They utilize mathematical structures, such as lattice-based cryptography or code-based cryptography, which are believed to be resistant to quantum attacks.

These algorithms introduce complexity and uncertainty into the equations, making it challenging even for quantum computers to find the correct solutions. It’s like navigating through a maze where the walls keep shifting and changing shape. Even the fastest quantum computer could struggle to keep up. This new generation of algorithms is like secret codes that only the recipient, armed with the right key, can decipher.

Is This Technology Already Available?

It’s not available quite yet. While researchers have made significant progress in developing post-quantum secure encryption, it’s still a work in progress. Standardization bodies and organizations around the world are actively exploring and evaluating various post-quantum encryption proposals to ensure their security and efficiency.

The transition to post-quantum secure encryption will require careful planning and collaboration. We need to ensure that our digital infrastructure is ready for this new era of encryption.

In recent years, a lot of innovative approaches have already been published. Today we are in the final steps of validating that the new encryption algorithms hold what they promise: keeping our data safe from quantum computer attacks.

How Should Your Company Prepare?

Companies preparing to transition to quantum-resistant encryption must stay informed about quantum computing developments and upcoming publications and results from NIST. You may want to consider hybrid quantum-safe protocols that use quantum-secure encryption as well as traditional algorithms. But, most importantly: Start considering the transition now—before quantum computers become a reality.

Keeping this transition in mind can help build a future where digital conversations are as secure as whispers, where secrets remain hidden from prying eyes and where communication is protected against the advancements of quantum technology.

Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?

 

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