What are we going to do with quantum computers?

Re:What are we going to do with quantum computers? by lawl on Sunday February 25, 2018 @05:10AM (#16458189)

> We should start moving toward quantum-resistant cryptography now so that by the time these machines become practical, sensitive information will have fallen out of most archives.

I think we actually are. NIST already gathered submissions for post quantum crypto[0] last year.

And people like djb are also clearly interested in it[1][2].

[0] https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/post-quantum-cryptography/rou...

[1] https://blog.cr.yp.to/20170719-pqbench.html

[2] https://sphincs.org/

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Re:What are we going to do with quantum computers? by mort96 on Sunday February 25, 2018 @04:08PM (#16461158)

I know very little about the topic. Will post-quantum crypto require new hardware? The few techniques I have heard about rely on special networks capable of transmitting quantum particles, not just bits.

If new network infrastructure is required, I can't imagine how we would ever get quantum computer resistant cryptography before it's way too late.

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Re:What are we going to do with quantum computers? by nokcha on Sunday February 25, 2018 @04:21PM (#16461227)

>Will post-quantum crypto require new hardware?

No. We just need to switch from existing public-key cryptographic algorithms to quantum-resistant public-key cryptographic algorithms. There are already a variety of such algorithms developed (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-quantum_cryptography). All that remains is to study them further and agree on a standard.

Symmetric ciphers such as AES are already quantum-resistant for 256-bit keys. (Grover's algorithm is the best known quantum attack for such algorithms. Cracking an N-bit key classically is approximately as hard as cracking an (N/2)-bit key on a quantum computer with Grover's algorithm.)

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