Unlocking the Power of Quantum Encryption

Last year, tech giant Google told the world that it had built a quantum computer able to carry out a specific task far faster than any classical device (see “Supreme or Unproven?,” OPN, March 2020). That achievement suggested that it might not be too long before machines exploiting quantum phenomena start doing useful things such as developing new drugs or designing novel materials. But it also raised a more malign prospect—that new quantum algorithms could crack the codes currently used to encrypt much of the communication on the internet.