Quantum Computing and Its Impact on Cybersecurity [Q&A]

Ian Baker / BetaNews / 20 July 2022

QuSecure is excited to share an interview with Skip Sanzeri, then QuSecure co-founder and COO. The interview was conducted by online IT news source BetaNews, and covered the impact quantum computing will have on cybersecurity.

Key points of the interview include:

• The quantum computing industry is undergoing rapid evolution. Companies have gone from a computers couple dozen qubits to hundreds. Some companies are looking towards a thousand qubits by mid-decade. Four thousand qubits would be enough for a quantum computer to break RSA 2048, the primary algorithm used for data encryption.
• The day quantum computers will be able to crack encryption, referred to as Q-Day, is only a matter of years away. However, malicious actors are stealing data now, and plan to store it until Q-Day, when they will be able to decrypt it. Unless data is encrypted with post-quantum cryptography (PQC), it is vulnerable to this sort of store-now, decrypt-later attack.
• The main challenges of addressing the post-quantum cybersecurity threat are twofold. First, any change is difficult. Finding the will, time, and funding to transition to a post-quantum future is a long process and requires a great deal of planning. Second, in a field with cutting-edge technology, change is a constant. Flexibility is thus crucial when choosing a PQC solution.

We want to particularly highlight this quote from Skip: “By finding a partner like QuSecure that has an adaptive orchestrated solution with continuous availability that standardizes on all the NIST finalists, an organization can know that they have optimized their choice.”