Quantum Computing: Good or Bad

A new cryptographic era is beginning where quantum computing will be able to break the encryption that underpins our entire digital society, this warning coming from Ms. Anne Dames, distinguished engineer at IBM.[1] Speaking at an IBM press tour in Poughkeepsie, New York last, where Dames told journalists that “there’s a lot to be concerned about” when it comes to the potential threat of quantum attacks. “We believe there will be a time when quantum computers can break the cryptographic protections that we have used for many years,” she said.

While there are various opinions on how imminent is the threat of quantum computing and quantum attacks, IBM’s quantum roadmap shows that quantum advantage is expected to be reached within the next five years, as the organization plans to deliver a 4000+ qubit system by 2025.[2] If a cybercriminal were to leverage quantum computing, they may be able to derive someone’s encryption key and utilize that to impersonate the individual, forge transactions, forge digital signatures, find and print data, and extort or disclose the harvested data. While this is not possible currently, it's not just a future problem. According to IBM, cybercriminals today are stealing data with the purpose of exposing it down the track. “These kinds of attacks can start now because that data is being harvested today,” she said.

Dames went on to say that there are two classes of security problems associated with quantum’s ability to impact cryptography. A quantum computer can slash by half the strength of symmetric key and hashing algorithms and can entirely break public-key cryptography algorithms she said. “In the case of symmetric and hashing algorithms, what we need is we need stronger encryption algorithms that have larger keys or larger digests. But in the case of public-key cryptography, we need brand new algorithms based on different math problems.”

The answer to this problem is quantum-safe cryptography, which is resistant to attacks even after larger-scale quantum computing is available. IBM recently made available IBM z16 mainframe computer is the industry’s first quantum-safe system. “When you look at Z, it plays an absolutely critical role in the global economy,” said an IBM engineer and IBM Z and LinuxONE security CTO. “When you look at the financial services, retail, transportation, government organizations that are leveraging our platform, we can't stand still when it comes to cyber threats and looking at cybersecurity, we need to take a position of leadership.” The first z16 mainframes will be shipped to customers today.

Red Sky Alliance is a Cyber Threat Analysis and Intelligence Service organization. For questions, comments or assistance, please contact the office directly at 1-844-492-7225, or feedback@wapacklabs. com

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