Anyone who emails or texts someone or signs up for an account on some website knows that there is always something in place to keep their personal information secure. However, scientists are currently trying to figure out a way to keep the information of these people safe, even with the new threat of quantum computers.
While these computers will be able to do amazing things, one of the things that people are most concerned about is the effect these computers will have on keeping our information secret. One of the encryption methods used today could be potentially broken by these powerful computers, but the scientists at NIST are working on ways to encrypt information so that it will be safe from even a quantum computer.
Why Do People Feel This Way?
Computers work on math, and quantum computers work on math too. For the sake of the cybersecurity, here is what users of the internet should know about the former and the latter.
The NIST has stated that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break some of the encryption algorithms that are currently used to protect cyber security. However, just because a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could break some encryption algorithms, doesn't mean that every encryption algorithm or even every type of cipher is vulnerable to the power of quantum computers. It is easy to feel like all encryption security measures on the internet are about to be rendered completely useless, but that is simply not the case. That would be ignoring the nuance of exactly what effect quantum computers will have on the ways that we encrypt information on the internet.
Here Comes the Post-Quantum Cryptography!
This specific kind of encryption is designed to be unbreakable, whether it is thrown against every day computers or against the powerful quantum computers. In August of 2024, researchers at NIST released the first three post-quantum encryption standards, beginning the long process of implementing them in the real world. There are two types of post-quantum standards: ones for key establishment and ones for digital signatures. Key establishment algorithms are what allow us to establish keys, or ways to unlock certain digital locks. Digital signature algorithms, on the other hand, are what allow us to sign messages, files, programs, or anything else digitally.
The encryption standards designed by the NIST are meant to protect the information that we care about day after day, and it is not necessary for everybody to run out and buy a quantum computer for themselves just to implement these cryptography methods. Firstly, according to the NIST, organizations must decide which algorithms they would use today and which algorithms
they would like to use in place of the current ones. Secondly, said organizations must go through a long and tedious process of implementing the post-quantum cryptography. This is why it is so important to begin preparing now; while it might take a while to replace one's cybersecurity protocols, once they are replaced, they will be significantly safer. Let's say that there is a university that has students, professors, and researchers that use a specific system to log into their emails and databases, check their grades, and look over research papers. Now, this university wants to upgrade their security protocols. First, they would have to find out which algorithms they would want to replace and which algorithms they would want to put in their place. After that, they would have to make sure that all of the programs that their students and professors and researchers would use work with these new algorithms. Just from this example alone, one might see why it will be very important to take these preparations seriously; it is much better to spend the time to prepare than to have to scramble to find a solution at the very last minute, as was already said.
Furthermore, if two organizations wished to communicate with one another, they would benefit from coming to some sort of agreement, as the NIST stated. This is much easier than having to work around the fact that neither one of them works with the other.
Final Statement:
With the advent of quantum computers comes the responsibility to protect the information that needs to stay protected. The development of the post-quantum encryption standards is a wonderful opportunity to ensure that the information we want to stay private will stay private, and all other information will be safe as well.
Sources
- NIST. “NIST Releases First 3 Finalized Post-Quantum Encryption Standards.” August 13, 2024.
- NIST. “Post-Quantum Cryptography.”