By Josh Perry, Editor
[email protected]

A report released by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has expressed doubts about preparations for cybersecurity in the era of quantum computing and that a practical quantum computer is still at least a decade away.

A wafer produced by Intel for quantum computing. A recent report indicated the U.S. needs more investment to prepare for the future of quantum computing. (Wikimedia Commons)

Although quantum computers that can compromise a public-key cryptography are years away, the report explained, designing a new internet protocol takes around a decade and the U.S. needs to invest public money in quantum computing to keep up with the investment other countries are making in the technology.

“While defeating currently deployed public-key encryption using the best available conventional computer is effectively impossible, a quantum computer could potentially perform this task in no more than a few hours,” a press release from the National Academies explained. “Even if a sufficiently advanced quantum computer does not arrive within the next 30 years, the report emphasized the need to begin transitioning to quantum resilient procedures to prepare for an attack by such a system, as it takes over a decade to replace existing web standards.”

“There has been remarkable progress in the field of quantum computing, and the committee doesn’t see a fundamental reason why a large, functional quantum computer could not be built in principle,” said Mark Horowitz, Yahoo! Founders Professor at Stanford University and chair of the committee. “However, many technical challenges remain to be resolved before we reach this milestone.”

One of the key challenges presented by the report is converting current data into a quantum state and that research into quantum computing has tangible national security implications.

“While the U.S. has historically played a leading role in developing quantum technologies, quantum information science and technology is now a global field, and many other nations have made large resource commitments,” the report said. “Continued support from the U.S. to this field is imperative if the country wants to maintain its leadership position.”

Scientific American featured the report in a recent article, outlining the many challenges that quantum computing faces and that researchers are working to solve around the world. Read more at https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-u-s-lagging-in-the-quest-for-quantum-computing.

Also, the full report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine can be purchased at https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25196/quantum-computing-progress-and-prospects.