Quantum computers need far fewer resources to break encryption
Original: Quantum computers need vastly fewer resources than thought to break vital encryption
Why This Matters
Shows quantum threat to current encryption is arriving faster and cheaper than expected.
Two new research papers show quantum computers could break 256-bit elliptic curve cryptography using 100 times fewer resources than previously estimated. One approach could crack ECC in 10 days, while Google's method breaks cryptocurrency encryption in under 9 minutes.
Two independently written whitepapers demonstrate significant advances in cryptographically relevant quantum computing (CRQC). The first paper shows neutral atoms as reconfigurable qubits with free access to each other could break 256-bit elliptic-curve cryptography in 10 days using 100 times less overhead than previous estimates. Google researchers in a second paper showed how to break ECC-securing blockchains for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in less than nine minutes with a 20-fold resource reduction. The advances stem from new quantum architectures designed to create fault-tolerant quantum computers that operate correctly despite errors when qubits interact with their environment. More efficient algorithms building on Shor's 1994 algorithm also drive progress. Neither paper has been peer-reviewed yet.