Today's media narrative around quantum computing's role in cybersecurity is overwhelmingly negative, because quantum computers will render today's encryption standards redundant, leaving much of our data at risk of being decoded.
First, it's important to understand how quantum computing will impact encryption.
In 1994, American mathematician Peter Shor developed a quantum algorithm that essentially could break RSA encryption phenomenally faster.
The current quantum computers aren't powerful enough to run Shor's algorithm, but the technology is developing at speed.
There has already been extensive work by researchers to develop quantum-safe encryption standards - some of which will be based on quantum technology.
It's important to take a step back and realize that while quantum technology may undermine RSA-based security, quantum will also play a big role in creating new security standards that will improve how we communicate, make transactions, and go about our daily lives.
These protocols will allow people to communicate more securely, as it will be much harder for bad actors to collect or intercept data using these quantum communication protocols.
Quantum key distribution will allow two communicating users to tell whether a third party has tried to eavesdrop or tamper with a transmission.
This system of key distribution relies on a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics: that trying to measure a quantum system will disturb that system.
Quantum technology will enable true random number generation.
The greatest potential for quantum computing security applications is within artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The speed advantage offered by quantum computing means that a quantum computer can take all that data, create connections, and feed those connections to an ML model, which a classical computer will still be able to run and operate.
Quantum computing will allow you to create those models much more quickly and be more confident in the resulting algorithm.
There is a possibility for AI/ML models to run entirely on the quantum computer, enhancing classification and regression capabilities.
Thinking beyond cybersecurity, using quantum computing to improve AI/ML models has applications in many industries.
High-frequency trading algorithms used by financial institutions have been connected to flash crashes in the stock market when these automated trading bots make errors; improving these algorithms through quantum data processing should limit these errors, adding stability to financial markets, as well as helping financial institutions generate more profit.
As mentioned, quantum encryption is a key development, enabling governments to better protect communications and state secrets, but there's also an exciting area of research called quantum metrology: the use of quantum computing in radar technology.
Ultimately, these are just a few ways that quantum computing provides opportunities for creating a safer, more secure world.
By using quantum machines to process more information, at a faster pace, organizations will have the ability to create vastly more sophisticated AI. They can rely less heavily on heuristics or intelligent guesses and instead make more informed choices.
While sufficiently powerful quantum computers are still some years away, there are exciting opportunities ahead..
This Cyber News was published on www.cybersecurity-insiders.com. Publication date: Tue, 02 Jan 2024 20:13:04 +0000