Quantum Computers and stuff

[Perry E. Metzger]

Bob Silverman claims that Shore's result is largely bullshit. I
haven't gotten any details yet, so I don't know for sure, but I'd say
at this point panic is not yet in order.

Perry

John K Clark says:
>         >In a startling theoretical result that could call into question
>         >any  cryptosystem based on factoring, Peter W Shore of AT&T Bell
>         >Laboratories in  Murray Hill, N.J., has just proved that
>         >factoring is "easy" when done on a  special type of computer
>         >operating according to quantum mechanical principles . Although
>         >such a quantum computer does not yet exist, this finding has
>         >shaken the cryptographic community.
>         
> By "easy" I presume they mean solvable in Polynomical time. I'm
> not saying the writing is on the wall or anything but it might
> be prudent to start thinking about Diffe-Hellman, perhaps using
> elliptic curves.