There is a lot of attention being given of late to the thread of quantum computing breakthroughs to crypto. This is a bit ironic since, from a security standpoint, quantum computers are a threat to everything.
According to the experts, this makes all present forms of encryption obsolete. Hence, from a relative perspective, I am not sure crypto would be the top target. There are certainly trillions at stake but what about government defense systems? How much is that worth?
Does quantum really pose a threat is another question? The theory of quantum itself is pretty clear. What is not is the path that the technology will take. We are talking about engineering nightmares on a scale never approached. In other words, building a fully functioning quantum computer is no easy task.
In this article we will dive into this topic and lay out a few points.
To start, I am far from a quantum (or crypto-security) expert. We also are dealing with a topic for which even the most knowledgeable have no answer.
That said, there are a couple factors to focus upon.
Ever since computing began, there were threats. Cybersecurity is not a new business. It really took off with networking with the Internet being the biggest network created.
The technology in this field always advanced. Cybersecurity is often a game of cat-and-mouse. The security applications have a breakthrough only to see the hackers go one step further.
Back and forth it goes.
Quantum is along these lines but on steroids. We are dealing with potentially the greatest security threat in computing history. Every database is at risk.
Since crypto networks are nothing more than connected databases, they fall under this category. If we enter a situation where present encryption is useless in an instant, the entire global system is at risk.
Against this framework, crypto might not be at the top of the list. However, if we see it becoming a foundation for the global economy, then it suddenly ranks up there with the likes of defense.
The positive is we are dealing with a known threat. People are talking about this, with discussions taking place.
Even more important, steps are being taken. The ones who are addressing the issue are not politicians, ones who have endless meetings and press conferences talking about a problem the do nothing about.
Instead, we are dealing with developers. These are actively working on different solutions, providing research and alternatives to prevent their networks from vulnerability.
It is a fact that is also true within the crypto world.
Justin Drake is a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation. He proposes a streamlined vision of the protocol for the coming decade.
Ethereum is one network that is taking a look at the situation and planning ahead.
The crypto core of Ethereum is set to evolve. BLS signatures, KZG commitments, and current verification mechanisms are judged vulnerable to quantum computer attacks. To guard against this, Justin Drake unveils a “Lean” roadmap to fend off these threats and switches to purely hash-based primitives.
The solution, from his perspective, resides in these changes:
Concretely, this evolution means:
*Hash-based aggregate signatures replacing BLS;
*Hash-based availability commitments supplanting KZG;
*A real-time hash-based zkVM execution, ensuring compatibility and verifiability.
Most of us lack an in-depth knowledge what any of this means. That is fine since our understanding is not necessary.
The point is we have the second leading crypto network, at least by market cap, already seriously looking at the issue. Since the quantum threat is not coming within a week, there is still some time.
As shown, this is much bigger than just crypto.
An advantage to this fact is that it is at the core of the cybersecurity industry. For our purposes we will use that to include anyone who engages in any type of network security. Basically, this is everyone who is professionally involved with security databases or networks.
The quantum threat is the same to all of them. This means we have an alignment.
Encryption protocols tend to be standard. They were adopted over the years after testing and acceptance of those responsible for security. It surpassed any industry such as banking or tech. What was being protected, i.e. what was in the database, didn't matter.
The entire spectrum was protected.
Now we could see the flipping to unprotected. Therefore, there is incentive for all involved to figure out a solution.
A quantum breakthrough could present a universal problem. For this reason, people all over the world are looking into it.
This is not something that will sneak up on anyone.
