Google research shows quantum computers could break RSA encryption sooner than expected

A hot potato: Google has reignited debate over the future of digital security, revealing that the hardware needed to break widely used encryption could be closer than previously thought. The research, led by Craig Gidney and posted to the preprint server arXiv, shows that a 2,048-bit RSA encryption key – a standard for online security – could be cracked in less than a week by a quantum computer with fewer than one million noisy qubits. The finding is a dramatic reduction from earlier estimates that put the requirement at around 20 million qubits just a few years ago. For now, the million-qubit quantum computer remains a goal rather than a reality. However, the pace of progress in the field means the transition to quantum-resistant security measures can no longer be considered a distant concern. The study provides a blueprint for what a future attack might look like and serves as a call to action for the global security community to prepare for a post-quantum world. This new estimate ... Read full article.