Post-Quantum Cryptography: What Advancements in Quantum Computing Mean for IT Professionals

Advances in quantum computing and particularly their impact on security and privacy is a topic of increasing importance to IT practitioners. The authors provide a readily understandable introduction to quantum computing, as well as post-quantum cryptography. They also explain post-quantum cryptographic solutions such as quantum-resistant algorithms and quantum key distribution. Lastly, the suitability of these solutions is addressed with a focus on their impact on the modern cryptographic infrastructure and applicability to the IT profession.

A Brief Introduction to Quantum Computing

Although there is no specific date or event, most would agree that the field of QC was born in the 1980s with seminal contributions from the likes of Richard Feynman, David Deutsch, and many others.⁶ Over the past three decades, this work has continued through a number of research groups with the goal of understanding and overcoming the challenges associated with building a practical quantum computer.⁷ Most notably, David DiVincenzo from the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center established requirements for building a quantum computer that have served the community well.⁸ These requirements primarily pertain to a quantum computer's ability to effectively store, manipulate, and read (or measure) information with little or no error. For example, read-write tasks, which are generally considered trivial on a classical computer, are very difficult in the quantum regime, where it is particularly challenging to initialize a quantum system in a known state, perform operations on that state, and ensure that the surrounding environment does not inadvertently impact the system's result.