Cryptography needs to be ready for quantum computing by 2029, Google warned.
Modern encryption uses math equations that would take conventional computers trillions of years to crack. In theory, quantum computers could do that math instantly. “Q-day,” when the tech renders existing encryption useless, was — like fusion power — always 10 years away, but quantum computers have rapidly become less error-prone and more efficient in their use of computing power.
The quantum-computing scientist Scott Aaronson told Semafor that he agreed “it would be wise” to transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) by 2029, because effective QCs could plausibly arrive by then.
What PQC will look like is unclear, but two mathematicians won the Turing Award this month for describing one potential model.