Encryption Codes at Risk as Quantum Computing Advances
Most digital communications are secured by encryption built on mathematical problems so hard that conventional computers cannot realistically solve them. That assumption could soon be broken by quantum computers that exploit properties of matter at subatomic scales to perform certain calculations far more efficiently than conventional machines ever could. Such systems may be capable of breaking widely used encryption methods considerably sooner than researchers had expected. Recent results from 2026 have raised concerns about quantum-based security issues in digital spaces. IBM has built a 120-qubit processor targeting quantum advantage on certain tasks, with a fully fault-tolerant machine on its roadmap for 2029. Google is moving to accelerate its own adoption of quantum-resistant…

