The article suggested there are quantum computers not available to the public. Easier to get restrictive laws passed for things that arent ready for public consumption, but they all know the pulic is going to get those things eventually and put into place barriers before people care about them.
Its some long term thinking for it to be true, but it tracks they might be using something that behind closed doors, is leaps ahead of what most people know about
parentesis@lemmy.world 4 months ago
There is a race to crack the most common encryption algorithms. The official estimation is that they are 30 years away from it (reduced from the original 100 years they provided only 5 years ago), so their progress is faster that they expected and this tech is now considered a weapon.
The country that gets there first will have a very valuable window of opportunity… It’s a race.
variaatio@sopuli.xyz 4 months ago
More like estimates on this are completely unreliable. As in that 100 years could have as well been 1000 years. It was pretty much “until an unpredictable technological paradigm shift happens”. “100 years in future” is “when we have warp drives and star gates” of estimates. Pretty “when we have advanced to next level of advancement and technology, whenever it happens. 100 years should be good minimum of this not being taken as an actual year number estimate”.
30 years is “we see maybe a potential path to this via hypothetical developments of technology in horizon”. It’s the classical “Fusion is always 30 years away”. Until one time it isn’t, but that 30 year loop can go on indefinitely, if the hypothetical don’t turn to reality. Since you know we thought “maybe that will work, once we put out mind in to it”. Oh it didn’t, on to chasing next path.
Takumidesh@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Governments are also hoovering up encrypted files and storing them for later so when the time comes, they can go and decrypt everything.
Gov seized your hard drive and you feel safe knowing it’s encrypted, better hope the forgot where they put it in 15 years.
repungnant_canary@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Drives are usually encrypted with symmetric ciphers (usually AES) and these are reasonably secure against quantum attacks with a key big enough.
And with the vast majority of crimes you just need to wait until the statute of limitations, which in cryptography and quantum fields is quite short period.
KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
Not all encryption is vulnerable to quantum.
knightly@pawb.social 4 months ago
There’s no hiding secrets from the future.
mctoasterson@reddthat.com 4 months ago
…another argument for aggressive statute of limitations for all non-violent crimes.
KevonLooney@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Anything that’s “30 years away” is essentially not going to happen. Quantum cryptography will advance faster than the ability to break it because there will be more money behind it.
Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 4 months ago
That’s not really the concern, quantum cryptography already works, we have more robust encryption techniques.
The problem is that the planet has a whole lot of saved communications still encrypted with old techniques, and those are all at risk of being decrypted later. If you were transmitting encrypted data, knowing that there’s was a man in the middle, you probably felt pretty clever, as even the watchers couldn’t read it… But they could record it and save it. Now all those saved recordings are likely to come out.
Nomecks@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
Theres already a ton of datasets that have been stolen that won’t benefit from new encryption standards. Steal now, decrypt later.
curiousaur@reddthat.com 4 months ago
I can’t wait to see the clusterfuck when the blockchains unravel.
masquenox@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Because that turned out so well during the Cold War.