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The success of the modern digital economy depends on encryption. Without it, digital services such as ecommerce platforms, collaboration apps, messaging tool and software-as-a-service would be rendered practically useless. Private messages, payment data and sensitive information of all sorts would bleed out from their intended channels, threatening the privacy and security of essentially every internet user.<\/p>\n
Encryption, the process of securing data and internet traffic, is a cornerstone of the connected world. But experts warn that quantum technology could one day cause these traditional privacy protections to crumble \u2013 and security pros are calling that impending event \u2018Q-day\u2019.<\/p>\n
What is Q-day and why does it matter?<\/p>\n
Traditional computing runs on binary \u2018bits\u2019 of information, where each unit can be coded as either 0 or 1. Quantum computing, however, uses so-called qubits, or quantum bits, which can occupy both 0 and 1 positions at the same time. This ability to hold seemingly conflicting information simultaneously is known as superposition, and it\u2019s similar in this way to the human brain, which can hold contradictory thoughts.<\/p>\n
Although quantum computers already exist, they are unwieldy and only useful for specialised tasks, such as solving complicated mathematical equations. However, once the machines are stable or commercially available, their ability to make such calculations, through methods such as Shor\u2019s algorithm<\/a>, might put encryption at risk.<\/p>\n Encryption relies on factoring extremely large numbers, which is difficult for even the most powerful classical computers. Quantum computers will one day be able to solve such equations easily, thereby \u2018breaking\u2019 encryption codes.<\/p>\n While quantum computers are not yet powerful or stable enough to crack these codes, and likely won\u2019t be for decades, their potential has security professionals worried. And, with quantum researchers at Google and IBM<\/a> working diligently to progress the technology, Q-day might come quicker than we\u2019d previously assumed.<\/p>\n Q-day: the security implications of quantum computing<\/p>\n