The threats and the disadvantages of quantum computers and cybersecurity

The threats and the disadvantages of quantum computers and cybersecurity

Introduction

The development of new generation computers that can solve complex scientific problems depends on quantum mechanics to unlock every single digital vault globally. Quantum mechanics has been behind the idea of quantum computing which will be able to perform computations in seconds that have taken years for conventional computers. These computers will enable improved weather forecasting, logistical planning, financial analysis, a simplified approach towards searching for earthlike planets and discovering new drugs. However, despite this advantage that is presented by quantum computers, they will compromise bank records, passwords on computers and private communication globally. This compromise is because modern cryptography has been based on encoding data that is in large numerical combinations and quantum computers have the potential to guess these numbers instantly. Expectations on quantum computing will be revolutionary, as expected, however, so far and in the future, there are some threats and disadvantages on cybersecurity. The purpose of this paper is to assess the foreseeable and existing risks and disadvantages of quantum computers and cybersecurity.

Quantum Computers and Cyber Security

Conventional computing has been developed using simple binary numbers that were developed after World War II, following the design of the first computers. All computer instructions are translated using the sequence of zeros and ones. Today, the mechanisms that have been developed in building platforms that have higher reliability that is still designed on the existing computing technology. Attacks planned on these security instruments are also conducted using the same infrastructure in technology. It, therefore, means that any physical or logical output that is created using quantum mechanisms has a higher capacity to damage the existing balances. It is due to this reason that quantum approaches affect models that have been currently developed.

Quantum computers rely on the principle of quantum mechanics in the manipulation of data. These computers have several capabilities as they can perform and solve multiple problems and transactions in the shortest time possible. However, this advantage in an evolving field means that their scalability is yet to be determined. Researchers advise that quantum computers should not create magical expectations. Therefore the optimism on quantum computers should not be trusted on cybersecurity as a number of threats and disadvantages might flaw them. It is, therefore, necessary for the assessment of these threats and disadvantages that relate to quantum computers and cybersecurity.

Threats and Disadvantages of Quantum Computers and Cyber Security

At the moment, the immunity of the current cyber system is not prepared for any quantum threat. It means that there is a lethal attack that is pending and time is limited for the designing and deployment for a solution to this threat. There are a number of challenges that are associated with building quantum computers. Some of these include the search for the best material that will be able to generate entwined pairs of photons. Logistical challenges are also on the side in terms of the process required in the fabrication of the computer chips through controlling qubits and the creation process. Design challenges related to storage mechanisms and detecting errors have also been identified. But despite these issues, there have been a number of breakthroughs by companies such as IBM. However, the advances are currently on experimental levels in small scale usability and therefore, the impact once the technology has been released remains unknown.

The first disadvantage is based on the amount of time it will take to build an information security system for new sensitive infrastructural projects. It has been found that these projects have a cycle that takes long developments for the desired result and by the time they are completed, the landscape on cybersecurity might have changed significantly in creating a threat profile. It, therefore, means that to consider an approach that is quantum-resistant to security issues on the design, new critical infrastructure should be developed and this in itself also takes a lot of time to create or upgrade. In application terms, this means that if a nuclear power plant expects to take about ten years to build a security system that is quantum-safe, they should make considerations for changes in the design process. If these considerations are not included, this means that the system is exposed to significant threats related to cybersecurity.

The issue related to the lifespan of the current information security systems, the equipment or the devices that will be used within an environment of critical infrastructure also arises. Using an industrial example, vehicle manufacturers with designs to be built in a few years need to consider risks associated with quantum computing as part of their plans today. Such considerations include making decisions that account for the advent of quantum computers in the vehicle’s lifespan. Some of the suggested considerations could consist of the issues of long-term privacy like the personally recognizable information that needs protection sooner since the information that is recorded today is easily decrypted tomorrow.

The third issue relates to the question of the length of time that is given to an information security system that is required to secure delicate data. One industry that might be significantly vulnerable is the banking industry with financial institutions expecting to secure their history on financial transactions for years. This raises the issue of determining the approaches that should be taken to ensure that data that is being generated today can be protected in the future form any threats that are linked to quantum computers. Such considerations are time-sensitive as soon as the selection process of logarithms that are quantum-safe are started. Estimates show that these can take up to five to seven years for the following crucial activities. They include; updating of the protocols required for these logarithms and the completion of the necessary software and performing quality assurance tests with inclusions of backward and forward congeniality.

Design threats are also foreseeable with quantum computing. To understand this issue, the idea of cryptography is at the core of developing these systems, and it refers to the process of solving or writing codes. This is in developing a more cryptographically ready system that is ready for a quick replacement with another cryptographic tool to facilitate a changeover to cryptography designs that are safe against the quantum computers (*). This kind of cryptography that is considered quantum-safe relies on protocols that are known to resist any known quantum attacks and are designed to operate on conformist information and the use of communicative technologies. It further includes the development of cryptography protocols that are safe from cryptanalysis based on mathematics but need access to a channel that allows for quantum communication. Such channels include free-space communication or optical fibre. More importantly, such a cryptographic suppleness would facilitate transformations that protect against any new or unknown threats.

Assumed solutions to improve quantum computing are also a threat in this unknown territory. One company in Canada, D-Wave stated that they had developed a quantum computer which was their first scalable sample (*). By using assumptions and trial-and-error experiments, the design has been produced to offer the best results for the increasing complex difficulties. One such assumption has been based on the use of adiabatic computing which is a concrete solution to issues related to infrastructure and computer security. However, following an analysis by the company on the computer, D-Wave’s assumptions on adiabatic computing might not be a solution for every problem that could arise from quantum computing (*). This, therefore, means that the premises might create threats in terms of computation optimizations, sampling, infrastructure learning and satisfying constraints related to national defence, commerce and science.

New technologies tend to create new issues that could be a disadvantage to the technological developments being made by the day. Such that have been established include cryptography standards that are worrisome changes. Rivest, Shamir and Adelman (RSA) standards could be the most affected as they took five years to establish. The RSA standards were the first public-key cryptosystems that were used widely in securing the transmission of data. In this kind of cryptosystem, the necessary encryption key has been made public and different from the decryption key that has remained private. The process of reducing an RSA key requires a significant amount of computer dispensation time and power.

Another issue that relates to the set RSA standards relates to breaking the cryptography standards and regulations as well as the countless possibilities associated with hacking a secure cyber system. The impacts of this kind of a breach can have a significant effect on the global cryptography that could create a considerable infrastructure block which can take years to develop or replace. Even when this has been discovered and the software bugs repaired, cryptographic foundations of the cyber system could be broken unless there is a significant replacement, which could take years and might lead to a security breach due to the lack of a quick fix. Research has further indicated that even with the publicly available key systems, the development of new keys could take ten years (*). Implementation of this computer software on a global level could mean that with inclusions of new standards, and without a sense of urgency, these developments on the breach standards could take over twenty years to replace any internet infrastructure that is security crucial.

Conclusion

Quantum threats are well defined, and even with approaches for solving these issues being put in place, it is inevitable that quantum computing problems on cybersecurity will be unexpected. These unexpected threats and disadvantages are related to the fact that this is still a new form of technology that is yet to be studied extensively due to the unknown transformations. Therefore, making responses to these threats and disadvantages not only alleviates the existing threats, but it also identified the weaknesses that could be in the current cyber system. Identifying these threats results in building more reliable systems that will enable developers to handle the increasing cyber threat landscape in better ways than those being used currently. Meeting the disadvantages associated with the cyber systems allows the current system to be ready for the new quantum computer era, which requires advanced cryptographic tools. Therefore, managing costs and time is a way to handle these risks through assessing and understanding the impact that the vulnerabilities related to quantum computing. Mapping out strategies and updating these strategies will eventually support the entire process.