(Fortune) The prospect of quantum computing necessitates a complete rethinking of cryptography. Today’s encryption may be rendered obsolete sooner than most people anticipate. Adam Langley, a senior software engineer at Google, pointed out that a latter-day Y2K could occur within the decade. Michele Mosca, cofounder of the Institute for Quantum Computing in Waterloo, Ontario, has estimated a 1-in-7 chance that quantum breakthroughs will defeat RSA-2048, a common encryption standard, by 2026.
Fortune 500 companies like IBM, Google, Microsoft, and Intel, are plugging away on the tech alongside smaller startups, like Calif.-based Rigetti. Nation states like China are, meanwhile, dumping billions of dollars into research and development.
The time to begin reengineering our digital defenses is now.
Quantum Computers to Soon Threaten the Web’s Security
