Will Quantum Computing Ruin Cybersecurity?

Introduction

On an average day, how often do you use end-to-end encryption so you can hide your information from prying eyes? You might think to yourself that you are unaware of what that is. But be assured that if you have used the internet in almost any capacity, be it browsing different websites on Safari, using Gmail or Outlook, or sending messages in WhatsApp, you have relied on the security of end-to-end encryption techniques.

For years, end-to-end encryption has protected your data and has been the gold standard for digital privacy. They rely on mathematical properties to obfuscate the data you send and receive, such that only your device or software can decipher and safely transfer your data. However, with advances in technology, our gold standard is becoming increasingly more susceptible to bad actors.

What is Quantum Computing?

So, what is this game-changing technology that is going to leak all our cat pictures that we send to our coworkers? Enter quantum computing. The concept of quantum computing is not new; it was first theorized as early as the 1980s by a physicist named Richard Feynman. The first quantum computation occurred in 1998; however, it was incredibly basic. In the years since, quantum computation has been getting increasingly better and more powerful.

Experts estimate that in 15 years or less, quantum computing will be advanced enough to crack our long-lived end-to-end encryption techniques in just hours or minutes. For reference, the most powerful classical (non-quantum) computer, El Capitan, is capable of more than two quintillion calculations per second, and it would take trillions of years to crack one of the most common end-to-end encryption techniques called RSA.

How Does Quantum Threaten Cybersecurity?

The primary threat quantum computing poses to Cybersecurity is in its ability to break the mathematical problems that form the layer of obfuscation, the basis of modern encryption. Online security for decades has relied on a type of cryptographic technique called public-key cryptography.

Imagine you have a special lock. You can give copies of this unlocked lock to anyone you want. When someone wants to send you a private message, they put it inside an indestructible box, and they secure it with one of your locks. The lock is incredibly complex, and the box cannot be x-rayed by anyone spying on the package transfer. The only way to get the message is with your unique key. If anyone else tries to open the box, they will be unable to because your key's design is so incredibly complex that it is virtually impossible to pick.

In the digital world, instead of a physical key, you have a very large, secret number. And instead of a lock, you share a special mathematical puzzle that only your secret number can perfectly reverse. The problem that quantum computers pose is a tool called Shor's Algorithm. Public key encryption relies heavily on the fact that classical computers find it extremely difficult to reverse the specific complex mathematical puzzle commonly used in end-to-end encryption. Shor's Algorithm is designed for quantum computers to easily reverse that puzzle and find the key to it. This means that a bad actor with a quantum computer could quickly figure out the secret information needed to decrypt your messages or access your secure data.

Solutions To Quantum Threats

It is important to note that public key encryption is not the only encryption technique we have at our disposal. There are encryption techniques such as symmetric key encryption, which relies on both you and the individual you want to communicate with having the same key, and a bad actor could only spy on your message if they had guessed the key precisely or had a copy themselves. However, symmetric key encryption is not a viable solution to public key encryption by itself, as both parties must agree on a key first, which requires some prior link of communication.

The best solutions we have that can replace public key encryption are categorized under Post-Quantum Cryptography, also known as quantum-safe cryptography. One of the most viable of these solutions is recommended by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and is called ML-KEM (Module Lattice Key Encapsulation Mechanism). ML-KEM leverages the idea of public key encryption to establish a random symmetric key and then uses that symmetric key for data transfer.

ML-KEM does not use the same puzzle that the current public key encryption uses; instead, it uses a much more complicated puzzle. The old lock had a specific puzzle that a quantum computer could reverse quickly. ML-KEM's new lock has a pattern so chaotic and complex, it is like a vast maze with no clear path, even for a quantum computer.

This puzzle, as of now, is hard for both classical and quantum computers to solve, and while ML-KEM's new puzzle is quantum-proof, using it requires more computational grunt work than our current methods. That is why it is used cleverly: just once to establish a fast, shared secret handshake, a symmetric key, and then that secret handshake is used for all future data transfers.

The challenge is not just developing these new algorithms, but also the monumental task of upgrading the vast global digital infrastructure, from websites and servers to personal devices, to adopt these quantum-safe standards.

Conclusion

To put things plainly, the answer to the question of “How will Quantum Computing Change Cybersecurity?” is, it will make us more secure.

Quantum computing presents a unique paradox; it threatens our long-lived end-to-end encryption techniques by its very existence, but it encourages us to innovate and build even more secure encryption methods. While the quantum era is far from dismantling our current digital privacy, its threat will ultimately make our world more secure, securing our cat pictures for generations to come.

References (APA)

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. (2025, May 25). Quantum Computer. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/quantum-computer

IBM. (2025, April 24). Public Key Cryptography. IBM Documentation. https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/integration-bus/10.1?topic=overview-public-key-cryptography

IBM. (2024, August 5). Quantum Computing. IBM Think. https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/quantum-computing

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. (2025, January 9). El Capitan High-Performance Computing. https://www.llnl.gov/news/highlights/el-capitan-high-performance-computing

National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2022, July 5). NIST Announces First Four Quantum-Resistant Cryptographic Algorithms. https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2022/07/nist-announces-first-four-quantum-resistant-cryptographic-algorithms

PQCRYSTALS. (2020, December 23). Kyber. https://pq-crystals.org/kyber/index.shtml