Imagine you have locked your diary with a code so complex, no man or computer can ever crack it. Cool, right? Well, here’s the anti-climactic twist. A new kind of computer has been made called the Quantum Computer, which may just be able to crack that code. For instance, Google’s quantum computer in 2024 solved a task called Random Circuit Sampling, a benchmark to test the power of a computer. And the quantum computer solved it in just under 5 minutes. The astonishing fact in this is that the fastest supercomputers in the world would have taken 10 septillion years to crack the task! Just for clarity, 1 septillion has 24 zeros after 1. I’ll leave you pondering on this one!

A quantum computer doesn’t knock politely; it kicks the door open.

A quantum computer goes through millions and billions of possibilities at the same time (like Doctor Strange in Infinity War). While this may sound fascinating, its threat is even more horrifying. Its supernatural speed means it could break through security systems that protect our bank accounts, private messages, national secrets, and… basically everything! Let’s bring hackers into play as well. They have begun collecting encrypted data like medical, financial, social media, and military records, hoping to unlock them later when quantum computers get strong enough. As a result, countries like the USA, China, and India are spending billions to get ahead in the quantum race.

Humans have been known for creating their problems first and then solving them. Following the legacy, scientists are building new types of locks, ones that even quantum computers can’t break. These are called post-quantum cryptography (PQC). As Eric Brier, CTO of Thales Cyber Defence, states, “Post-quantum cryptography is like building a castle before the dragon arrives.”

So let’s dive deeper into the quantum world and try to understand what is going on in it and how it is going to affect us till the last individual.

What Makes a Quantum Computer so Powerful?

In layman's terms, you can imagine that a quantum computer can pick out a lottery ticket from a pile of a billion in just 1 attempt. This is because Quantum Computers use ‘qubits’ instead of regular bits. A bit is like a switch, ON (1) or OFF (0). But a qubit can be both ON (1) and OFF (0) at the same time! This is called superposition. And when two qubits are taken, they get ‘entangled’ and act like twins; change one, and the other reacts immediately, irrespective of the distance between them!

“Think of a coin spinning in the air, it’s not just heads or tails, it’s both until it lands.”  ~Prof. Sasibhushana Rao, Andhra University

Because of superposition and entanglement, quantum computers can solve complex problems by handling huge amounts of data all at once. Before Google’s computer, an earlier version named Sycamore, solved a similar task in 200 seconds, which would have taken 10,000 years for a classic computer, way back in 2019.

This magic of quantum computing is helping in finding the right combinations between molecules for developing medicines, analysing and predicting the stock market, cracking and defending encryption codes, and much more! You can consider a quantum computer to be a hyperactive update of a supercomputer.

The Challenges of Quantum Computing

With their magical powers come their fragility, cost, and unpredictability. Quantum computers need to be kept extremely cold, close to absolute zero. Even a spark of heat can mess up the entire calculation.

“Qubits are like soap bubbles. Beautiful, but they pop with the slightest touch.”  - Prof. Sasibhushana Rao, Andhra University

The Money Factor also comes into play. Building a quantum computer costs millions of dollars, and only a handful of countries and companies can afford them. But the biggest threat is security. It can pass through security barriers within seconds, just like Vision passing through walls in the Civil War! And the question is, who controls this power? What will happen if someone decides to initiate a cyber war?

“Quantum computing isn’t just a technical challenge, it’s a moral one.” ~ Luca Possati, Ethics of Quantum Computing

The Quantum Pioneers: Scientists Saving Digital Security

While most of us scroll, shop, like, and share carelessly on the internet, a group of scientists globally is working to ensure no digital harm reaches us. These are the quantum pioneers, researchers studying and readying themselves for the quantum age.

1. Professor Urbasi Sinha - The Architect of Quantum Randomness: Working at the Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru, Prof. Sinha created a way to generate nearly unpredictable random numbers needed to build strong digital locks. And the method has no loopholes, meaning it is safe even if someone tries to tamper with the device.
2. Dr. Debashis Saha - Making Security Scalable: Dr. Saha from IISER Thiruvananthapuram designed a setup in collaboration with Prof. Sinha, which doesn’t rely completely on the entangled qubits. Their experiment generated over 900,000 random bits at a speed of 4,000 bits per second.
3. Meng Zhag - China’s PQC Evaluator: Meng Zhang and his team at China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT) and VIAVI Solutions developed a comprehensive testing and evaluation system to strengthen PQC algorithms against quantum attacks and other vulnerabilities.
4. Prof. Tanja Lange - Master of Cryptography: She has developed CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium, making security encryptions quantum-resistant and efficient for real-world use. She is also a leading researcher in lattice-based cryptography.
5. Dr. Shahram Mossayebi - The Futurist: He is the CEO and founder of Crypto Quantique, a UK-based startup, with the goal, in his words, ‘to make quantum security invisible, automatic, and everywhere.’ His startup builds end-to-end quantum security platforms for IoT devices and focuses on combining basic quantum physics with chip-level security, making digital security practical.

These aren’t just people working for curiosity or humanity’s growth, but saviours of each common man who believes there is good in the world. They understand how important digital security is and why it can’t be compromised. For eg, without Prof. Lange’s contributions, security in the quantum world might have just remained theoretical.

Quantum Computing’s Future

Quantum computing promises to rewrite the future, unlocking features we considered fiction. But with great power comes great responsibility! The power to solve the most complex of problems and the power to expose private histories both lie in the same palm. On one hand, there are hundreds of scientists working as custodians of private data, and on the other hand, stand the hackers and malicious-minded, ready to devour easy prey. We are on a quest to build systems that remember humanity for its beauty, protect vulnerable citizens, and evolve without erasing the past. And in that quest, quantum-safe cryptography is not a technical fix; it is a moral need.

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