Quantum Computing One of the ’12 Dark Secrets of Encryption’

(CIO.com) Encryption is fast becoming developer’s go-to solution for whatever data privacy or security. Contributing Editor Peter Wayner cautions that encryption has it limits and the tricky thing with encryption is that it can be impossible to be certain where those limits are.
Wayner posits “12 Dark Secrets of Encryption, with quantum computing holding one of the secrets. Quantum is a secret Wayner says because “The future of computing is a mystery.”
“No one knows if quantum computers will ever be built with enough power to tackle meaningful problems, but we know people are trying and putting out press releases about making progress. We also know that if the quantum machines appear, some encryption algorithms will break right open. Many encryption scientists are working hard at building new algorithms that can resist quantum computers, but no one really knows the extent of a quantum computer’s powers. Will it be limited to the known algorithms? Or will someone find another way of using the quantum computer to break all of the new algorithms.”
Wayner’s provocative article worth a read of the other 11 dark secrets.