NSA Acknowledges Quantum Computing Threat
Source: Gene Carter
An unprepared company could be devastated with the arrival of quantum computers able to execute Shor's Algorithm and break RSA and ECC crypto.
On August 11th, the National Security Agency (NSA) announced their preliminary plans for transitioning to quantum resistant algorithms and away from the Suite B cryptographic algorithms specified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). They even said that vendors that haven’t yet switched to Suite B algorithms should not do so at this point and use their resources “to prepare for the upcoming quantum resistant algorithm transition.” They then went on to say “Unfortunately, the growth of elliptic curve use has bumped up against the fact of continued progress in the research on quantum computing, necessitating a re-evaluation of our cryptographic strategy.”
I laud the NSA for this public recognition of the quantum computing threat. Quantum computing is a real threat to the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) that is in place today and needs to be addressed.
For those of you not familiar with the threat, quantum computers are able to execute Shor’s Algorithm, which has been proven to be able to break RSA and ECC, the two most popular crypto algorithms used in PKI and digital signatures. Quantum computers of sufficient strength to run Shor’s Algorithm do not yet exist, but there has been significant progress in academic and corporate research (and probably government as well), including:
Researchers move quantum computing to silicon
Google launches Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab
Snowden documents state the NSA is running a $79.7 million research program with the aim of developing a quantum computer capable of breaking encryption
IBM Scientists Achieve Critical Steps to Building First Practical Quantum Computer
Breakthrough opens door to affordable quantum computers
This story continues on EE Times' sister site, Embedded.com.
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