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Quantum Computers Will Break the Encryption that Protects the Internet

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by No Worries, Oct 19, 2018.

  1. No Worries

    No Worries Contributing Member

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    Quantum Computers Will Break the Encryption that Protects the Internet

     
  2. heypartner

    heypartner Contributing Member

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    Trisolaris Sophons have already done it, and will stop our Quantum Computers from doing it.

    We're just ants, now
     
  3. moestavern19

    moestavern19 Member

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    The problem with quantum is that it is literally theoretical until they can get annealling to actually happen between more than 100 qubits simultaneously.

    I don't think Google has been able to achieve 50 yet.

    Like graphite, we understand the potential but the practical could take decades or just prove itself unfeasible.
     
  4. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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    It's hard to tell how long it will take, but I think the following line is telling: "no longer a physicist's dream... it's an engineer's nightmare." So we build and sell and buy real quantum computers now, but apparently there are still technical challenges galore.

    https://www.technologyreview.com/s/...nally-here-what-are-we-going-to-do-with-them/
     
  5. moestavern19

    moestavern19 Member

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    Yeah, D-Wave has had a working quantum computer available to purchase for years now but it is basically useless and for experiments and familiarization only.

    Rigetti computing I believe is one of the dedicated labs working exclusively on a prototype quantum processor and integrated circuits.

    Google keeps claiming they have beat everybody to the punch to have a 50 qubit machine, but there is a lot of skepticism about whether or not that means 50 in unison or just 50 for the sake of 50. Big difference.
     
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  6. seclusion

    seclusion rip chadwick

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    Luckily my job has absolutely nothing to do with the internet!

    Oh...uh...nevermind.
     
  7. percicles

    percicles Contributing Member

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  8. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Contributing Member

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  9. RunninRaven

    RunninRaven Contributing Member
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    It's ok. The second Ben Kingsley comes up with the quantum computer that can decrypt anything, Robert Redford will thwart him and we'll all be happy we narrowly avoided being ruled by those damndable Ruskies.
     
  10. Jontro

    Jontro Member

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    wat dis mean for teh pr0n? kthx
     
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  11. London'sBurning

    London'sBurning Contributing Member

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    There are already security measures that will replace the prime number algorithms we use today when quantum computing becomes mainstream. I understand the apprehension but given the data breaches to entities like Equifax, Target and other big name companies, your personal data and information is already at risk.
     
    #11 London'sBurning, Oct 21, 2018
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2018
    dmoneybangbang likes this.
  12. MadMax

    MadMax Contributing Member

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    I have no idea what any of this means, but I'm VERY excited about it!!
     
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  13. kevC

    kevC Contributing Member

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    If quantum computing happens within my lifetime, I will be convinced that we are in fact living in a simulated reality.
     
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  14. Air Langhi

    Air Langhi Contributing Member

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    Can please explain this. If you can factor really big numbers you should be able to break RSA. AES will probably not be affected but how do you securely get the key to the other person. Do you send it in the mail? Tell it to them over the phone?
     
  15. London'sBurning

    London'sBurning Contributing Member

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    This video explains it far better than I could. The actual quantum crypto explanations starts around 3:39 mark. In essence though, if someone was to infiltrate data from quantum cryptography, it would be detected and would alter the quantum key generated rendering it useless. Right now, any sort of light can affect the photons used to generate a quantum crypto key which is one of the design limitations of the technology today.

    That said if and when quantum computers become consumer friendly like your everyday smart phone or computer, you can expect a lot more heavy investment into quantum cryptography as well.

    As new technologies are introduced rendering old ones obsolete, those new technologies will also help in birthing newer security measures.

    I mean in the 90s and 2000s, almost all websites were using plain old HTTP which can be seen in clear text. Nowadays at least 60% of hosts on the internet use HTTPS as well as other security measures to try and maintain the integrity of data transmission.

    If and when Prime Numbers do get cracked via Quantum Computing, I do expect there to be a lag in security measures to prevent breaches but as time goes on, there will be quantum security measures implemented to remediate those vulnerabilities.
     
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  16. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    I thought the same

    Break one Security Measure. . .we invent a new one

    Rocket River
     
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  17. PhiSlammaJamma

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    So basically hidden codes have made it through every major discipline except for maybe earth science and political science.
     
  18. London'sBurning

    London'sBurning Contributing Member

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    If you're interested in a good read on steganography, I recommend The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet by David Kahn.

    PDF available here.

     
    No Worries likes this.
  19. omgTHEpotential

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    Lately I've been hooked on Quantum Mechanics documentaries. I think I understand the basic gist, but sadly those documentaries don't really go any further into the subject. I'm guessing you'd need to have a science background to understand it more deeply?
     
  20. London'sBurning

    London'sBurning Contributing Member

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    I went through a phase and still keep track of some Youtube channels for the same reasons.

    PBS Spacetime is a good one. Fermilab is also a good source. The messenger lectures by Richard Feynman are also really good. Only one of those videos cover Quantum Mechanics and even then it's a bit dated since his knowledge of QM dates back to the 1960s. Since then, there have been more discoveries to complete the Standard Model. Still, he's considered the father of QED which heavily inspired Quantum Field Theory. Personally he got me most excited to learn more about QM, QFT and cosmology.

    My personal favorite physicist alive is Sean Carroll. He answers mysteries like whether light is a particle or a wave. It's a wave. He explains that our best current understanding of physics is that the universe is made of fields meaning there are quark fields, neutrino fields, electron fields and W and Z boson fields as well as force carrying fields. In these fields are waves for each particle in the standard model that permeate and cause excitations in those fields which we can detect. The act of observation causes these waves to be seen as particles but when not observed, act as waves. The act of observation does not involve consciousness. Merely another wave-particle that collides with another wave-particle can cause interference as light is very flimsy.



    Ultimately to really under QM and QFT, yes you would need to actually pursue higher education and take classes in those fields of study. The math behind it is it's own language that can only be conveyed partially through other forms of language like English. Still, you can get a good enough grasp behind it to really appreciate it for what it is and have a better understanding of the universe we inhabit.

    It was cosmologists like Carl Sagan that inspired me to realize the universe is much bigger than the planet we inhabit and perhaps that we take ourselves too seriously. It's humbling.

    To combine that vast enormity with a better understanding of the tiniest known objects we can detect that help make up such vastness and see how the two mingle is just as fascinating and humbling to me. That's where things like the Black hole Information Paradox come together. Trying to mish mash the macroscopic world with General Relativity and the subatomic with QFT is just interesting to think about. At the fundamental level, this is the reality we live in.

    Another couple of alive physicists I really respect that cover topics like the Black hole Information Paradox are Leonard Susskind (close friend of Richard Feynman when he was alive) and Joe Polchinski. You can find lectures by them on Youtube.

    One last recommendation just for general cosmology are lectures by Caroline Crawford when she was guest speaker for Gresham College. She has about 10 nearly hour long lectures that cover various different topics of mysteries in the universe. Some of them will touch on topics like quantum mechanics and QFT. I think she's one of the best explainers of difficult topics I've listened to.
     
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