The development of quantum computers has caused a lot of concern in the security world, as they are believed to be able to crack current public key encryption (PKI) in a relatively short amount of time. This is known as the cryptopocalypse, and it is estimated that it will take between 1000 and 2000 logical qubits to achieve this. To prepare for this, organizations are transitioning to post quantum cryptography, which is believed to be resistant to quantum decryption, but cannot be proven to be so. Quantum key distribution is a method of securely exchanging encryption keys using quantum properties transmitted via fiber, and is considered safe against quantum decryption. NIST has begun a competition to select and standardize post quantum encryption algorithms, and the Office of Management and Budget is required to send an annual report to Congress depicting a strategy on how to assess post-quantum cryptography risks across the federal government. To ensure that data is secure, crypto agility is needed, which allows companies to switch from one quantum safe algorithm to another if the one in use gets broken. It is important to note that the one-time pad must be generated by a source of true randomness, and not a pseudo-random process.
This Cyber News was published on www.securityweek.com. Publication date: Thu, 02 Feb 2023 12:17:02 +0000