Improving Cryptographical Methods

Due to the fact that quantum computers can crack all locks (cryptography methods) of the same type, it necessitates the creation of new locks that can’t be cracked by quantum computers. These locks can be improved in 1 distinct way: make the locks more complicated.

More Complicated Locks

A more complicated lock is simpler than one would expect for a countermeasure against quantum mechanics. Since all cryptographical methods are based in mathematics, it’s possible to simply expand the formula to use more factors. This premise is supported by another easy test: calculating the possible combinations of a lock while increasing the number of factors as an exponent.

Given 2 possible values for a factor and 3 factors, the formula for potential combinations is 2 to the power of 3, which adds up to 8. As you add more to that exponent, the number gets exponentially larger. At only 5 factors, the combination count is up to 32. A doubled factor count of 10 totals 1024 combinations.

While it’s possible to add more factors to make a formula secure against quantum computers, the cost is efficiency. A computer would take more time to execute the encryption and decryption of data, which would affect user experience. This is where time must be invested in order to create a lock that’s not only quantum proof, but also fast enough to not negatively impact the end user.

However, there is still a good amount of time to create quantum proof cryptography. When examining the development progress of quantum computers, it can be seen that “There is … currently a great deal of theoretical work taking place on developing new protocols and new approaches to certifying systems” (Acín, A., Bloch, I., Buhrman, H., et al., 2018, p. 4). A large amount of work still needs to be put in to make quantum computers as refined as classical computers, meaning this is time that can be spent creating the countermeasures to the quantum computers before they’re at their maximum theoretical computational speed.