On Sunday, August 15, 1999 4:37 PM Patrick Wilken
<patrickw@cs.monash.edu.au> wrote:
> >If anyone could figure out a quick way to factor
> >the product of two large primes, not only would national security
> >be at stake but also the world's banking system. With such
> >strong factoring, one could read any encoded message.
> >Mathematicians, however, are not losing much sleep worrying
> >that someone will discover such a shortcut. spike
>
> But presumably only until we develop reasonable quantum computing. How
long
> is that going to take? <20years? Are their any encryption schemes that
will
> hold up to a QCs assault?
I suspect that encryption will keep up. It's history has been one of new encryption systems arising as new encryption breaking systems arise. Kind of like an arms race -- in the Dawkins sense. I think quantum computing and AIs will create both new making and breaking systems -- not eliminate encryption entirely just make a lot of current stuff obsolete.
Also, one need not make a scheme that is unbreakable, just unbreakable for a certain length of time. For example, if I am now able to decode all German and Japanese coded message from World War Two, this does not help me much -- unless I'm an historian.:)
Cheers!
Daniel Ust
http://mars.superlink.net/neptune/