Okay, okay. I know that title is a bit scaremongering, but there is a strong sense of truth to it. Recent headlines have been saturated with news on how fast quantum computers are developing. It’s only a matter of 5-10 years before we could witness the first ones in mass use. This has got a lot of crypto investors worried about the “existential threat” their hard-earned assets and investments may now face.
Hold on, let’s back it up a second. Why is quantum bad?
Well, quantum technology itself is not inherently bad. It’s the people who could potentially use it that’s the real threat. With quantum supremacy, cybercriminals, hackers, and crypto thieves could crack into digital wallets used in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
At the moment, cryptocurrency transactions rely on cryptographic technology to be processed safely, authentically, and without interference from a centralized authority. Encrypted blockchains are what’s currently keeping cryptocurrency’s safe. Well, safe enough. Let’s not forget the two successful crypto heists just last month that occurred within the crypto space. First, Poly Network suffered an attack with an initial loss of $600m stolen from under its nose. Before just over half was given back by the hacker following a strange series of correspondences (read more about it here). Japanese crypto exchange, Liquid, was the second to fall victim just over a week later losing around $100m in digital assets.
And with quantum computing on the horizon, things are only going to get worse.
It’s not just your average De-Fi crypto investor that needs to worry either, anyone that relies on blockchains needs to take the quantum threat super seriously by starting to think about effective security systems now. I’m talking about big global financial institutions, central banks, military organizations, governments… the whole lot! There are even some clever people who reckon encrypted information is being harvested today so that it can be decrypted down the line after the arrival of a universal quantum computer.
BUT, it’s not all doom and gloom! I recently stumbled across an article that spoke to David Williams, Chairman, and co-founder of Arqit which is a leading company in quantum encryption technology. What it proposes as a solution really lifted my spirits.
Okay, so what is Arqit doing that’s so special?
The London-based tech startup is making waves in the quantum field as it managed to develop a method of encryption that creates unbreakable keys. Yes, you heard that right. The unique quantum solution is called QuantumCloud™ and is positioned as a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) capable of securing the communication links of any networked device against current and future cyber attacks (that includes quantum).
With David Williams at the helm, Arqit has developed a way to create symmetric encryption keys at scale and at endpoints that don’t exist until they are needed. Since they are just random numbers there aren’t any maths involved that a quantum computer could potentially break. So far, Arqit’s system is the most efficient method on the market of making blockchains quantum-safe – plus it is 1,400 times faster!
Quantum computers are coming, that’s inevitable. And, I don’t know about you, but I do not want to give anyone the chance to unleash the chaos that would come with a quantum computer security breach. But by adopting solutions from market leaders, like Arqit. We can confidently secure the future of the De-Fi cryptocurrency market and ensure important data doesn’t fall into the hands of opportunistic cybercriminals.
What can you do in the meantime? Educate yourself! Keep an eye on the industry and follow what companies like Arqit are doing to find effective solutions to the rising threat. This is not the time to be idle, now is the time to plan and prepare for an attack.