NSA is working on creating a quantum computer for hacking any type of encryption (but so far away from success)

The NSA is financing the development of a quantum computer that would allow it to crack almost any encryption used today, The Washington Post writes . So far, however, there is no evidence that the agency was able to move further than other researchers who are working on it.

Thanks to a document submitted by Edward Snowden, it became known about the research program “Embedding into Complex Goals” with a budget of $ 79.7 million, one of the goals of which is to create a quantum computer that can be used for cryptography. According to the document, most of the research is carried out in the physical laboratory of the University of Maryland. How far the work has progressed is not disclosed in the document.

The basic principle of quantum computing is known as "quantum superposition" - the idea that an object simultaneously exists in all states. If a classic computer uses binary bits that are either zeros or ones, then a quantum computer uses quantum bits, or qubits, which are both zero and one, which greatly increases the computing power.
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While a classic computer, no matter how powerful it is, must do one calculation after another, a quantum computer may not perform calculations that are not necessary to solve a problem. This allows him to come to the right answer much faster and more efficiently.

Creating a quantum computer has long been the goal of many in the scientific community, given the potential revolutionary implications for areas such as cryptography, medicine, and research. With this technology, virtually all current public-key encryption systems could be cracked, including those used on many secure sites or to protect state secrets.

Thus, a quantum computer could easily crack the widely used RSA algorithm, based on the computational complexity of the problem of factoring large integers. In 2009, computer scientists were able to factor a 768-bit number, but it took them almost two years and hundreds of computers. Scientists estimate that breaking a 1024-bit encryption key, which is usually used for online transactions, will take 1000 times longer.

However, a large quantum computer can theoretically crack 1024-bit encryption much faster. Some leading Internet companies are already moving to 2048-bit keys, but even those may be vulnerable to fast decryption using a quantum computer.

Nevertheless, even if before the advent of a quantum computer with enough power to crack complex encryption is far away, then the professor at the University of Southern California Daniel Lidard says: “The irony of quantum computing is that if you can imagine creating a quantum computer that can crack encryption in the next few decades, then you need to worry right now. "