This Feb. 27, 2018, photo shows a quantum computer, encased in a refrigerator that keeps the temperature close to zero kelvin in the quantum computing lab at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Describing the …Federal cybersecurity officials are preparing for a quantum computing surprise that requires the largest change in encryption ever to safeguard Americans’ data from foreign hackers.
Nations will rush to develop the tech and keep it hidden from public view in order to steal their enemies’ data while upending information security in the process, according to Mr. Jones, CISA associate chief of strategic technology. A cryptanalytically relevant quantum computer, the CRQC, will be capable of correcting errors, according to Mr. Jones, and perform tasks that other computers cannot approach.Art Fuller, who is leading the Justice Department’s post-quantum cryptography efforts, said developing secure systems presents a huge challenge that cannot be solved by flipping a switch.
Regardless, Mr. Jones cautioned digital defenders against delaying preparation for the arrival of such technology. The National Security Agency similarly fears the arrival of a CRQC in the hands of America’s enemies.