US to future-proof encryption against quantum computers

Though the field is in its infancy, ‘even a quantum computer a decade from now could potentially be used to decrypt data that’s encrypted today’, a senior administration official said ahead of the announcement. — AFP Relaxnews

WASHINGTON: The White House announced on May 4 a plan to upgrade current IT encryption standards used by both the US national security community and the commercial sector in order to secure them against powerful quantum computers of the future.

Quantum computing is a fast-emerging technology that combines advances in scientific understanding of the subatomic world with leaps in information theory to solve mathematical problems that are impossible for today’s conventional computers.