Quantum computers need vastly fewer resources than thought to break vital encryption

https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/03/new-quantum-computing-advances-heighten-threat-to-elliptic-curve-cryptosystems/

No, the sky isn't falling, but Q Day is coming, and it won't be as expensive as thought.

80 points · 13 comments · view on lemmy.world

13 Comments

ryannathans@aussie.zone · 15 pts · 151d (1 reply)

Crypto currency is so intertwined with the global economy and major banks that proof of a hacked bitcoin address would destroy the world's markets overnight

auraithx@piefed.social · 5 pts · 151d

Don’t worry it’s not as close as the popsci blogs would like you to believe.

rando@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 151d (3 replies)

Doesn’t quantum proof encryption exist already? I thought I learned that in college more than a decade ago… The only reason its not viable yet is because hardware was not powerful enough to run it without being slow.

I could be misremembering though its been a long time

BrikoX@lemmy.zip · 8 pts · 151d (1 reply)

It does and many security or privacy oriented services have already implemented post quantum encryption, but majority of the internet still relies on AES-256 or similar if not worse.

Rossphorus@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 151d

AES-256 is fine actually. The best known quantum attack reduces key strength from 256 bits to 254.4 bits. The problem is that in order to use AES (which is a symmetric encryption scheme) you need to exchange keys using an asymmetric system like RSA, which is known to be weak to quantum attacks.

obbeel@lemmy.eco.br · 3 pts · 150d

There is quantum cryptography also. If any middle man listens into the communication, the information is scrabbled. Cool stuff

Mangoholic@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 151d (4 replies)

Why the focus on breaking encryption. Can these computers not be used for better things

hoch@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 151d (2 replies)

In a perfect world, yes. But instead, we have countries like Russia (and probably now the US) which would love to use this technology for nefarious purposes.

parzival@lemmy.org · 6 pts · 151d

Not just the us now, the us at any point in history since encryption would've used quantum to break it

Miaou@jlai.lu · 1 pts · 150d

"Now the us"? Were you born in 2015 lol

someacnt@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 150d

I learned that QC can be used for general search problems, so it could get used for more efficient web browsing, etc. But those are relatively more difficult tasks, I guess.

MagnificentSteiner@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 150d

It's kind of ironic that quantum computers seem to exist and not exist at the same time.

eleijeep@piefed.social · 3 pts · 151d

more hype and no practical results