• Quantum computers can theoretically crack common encryption methodsBlackJack3D/Getty Images Quantum computers can theoretically crack common encryption methods BlackJack3D/Getty Images The amount of quantum computing power needed to crack a common data encryption technique has been reduced tenfold • This makes the encryption method even more vulnerable to quantum computers, which may be able to reach the reduced size within the decade • The RSA algorithm is one of the most widely used encryption algorithms, used for things like online banking and secure communication • It is based on the mathematical difficulty of finding which two prime numbers were multiplied together to create a very large number • Since the 1990s researchers have known that this difficulty can be side-stepped by using a quantum computer, but the possibility was considered theoretical because the size needed for such a quantum computer was much larger than could be built • Read moreFast-charging quantum battery built inside a quantum computer Read more Fast-charging quantum battery built inside a quantum computer This has slowly started to change as researchers built larger quantum computers and the estimated size ne

Article Summaries:

  • The amount of quantum computing power needed to crack a common data encryption technique has been reduced tenfold. This makes the encryption method even more vulnerable to quantum computers, which may be able to reach the reduced size within the decade. The RSA algorithm is one of the most widely used encryption algorithms, used for things like online banking and secure communication. It is based on the mathematical difficulty of finding which two prime numbers were multiplied together to create a very large number. Since the 1990s researchers have known that this difficulty can be side-steppe

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