NSA and quantum computers

[Anthony Martin]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1622
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG/MacGPG2 v2.0.22 (Darwin)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://www.enigmail.net/

iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJSxpOBAAoJEI5Fi4bvh9Hg7FIH/j1PBPKkZxdk39E+VpDubSDw
Ee3IlgkzWWecFCiWalGlIqys2jEbVE67cTFNpglE7p0UDIH56jFl8WeBk++YRbFt
F++V/er+0XPxFS0Aj1VzWsRkhjzXoVaNPwyf0CmRNjF/TldLf2MMcMqcSWgQHtam
+CcPMGnllu7IbCOHKPeymgcNivsckCyY9vw88FjSyYx1l6nfJEMY4L+q1vGvEo9H
3ds/S3Ds/d6YlwlzdV6u4vziIPuALPE81lBuXILt4xgzUnRFRZMPWDe1bwkoo/uS
uRi5jRluM1fahoL+voQJrAR2PpLrtJ2mq1IE+MhQEZdWTX6sbCJx5YMZ9KYU9dQ=
=OZSI
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

On Fri, Jan 3, 2014 at 1:41 AM, Jim Bell <jamesdbell8 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> http://news.yahoo.com/nsa-eyes-encryption-breaking-39-quantum-39-machine-225306575.html
>
> Washington (AFP) - The US National Security Agency is making strides toward
> building a "quantum computer" that could break nearly any kind of
> encryption, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
>
> Related Stories
>
> The NSA Is Trying to Build a Quantum Computer The Atlantic Wire
> NSA leaker: 'Mission's already accomplished' Associated Press
> NSA, UK agency 'targeted Israel PM, EU officials' Associated Press
> Amnesty for Edward Snowden? Might depend on what secrets he's got left
> Christian Science Monitor
> Israel plays down importance of alleged spying by U.S. and UK Reuters
>
> The Post said leaked documents from fugitive ex-NSA contractor Edward
> Snowden indicate the computer would allow the secret intelligence agency to
> break encryption used to protect banking, medical, business and government
> records around the world.
> Quantum computing has been a goal among commercial firms such as IBM because
> it could harness the power of atoms and molecules, vastly increasing speed
> and security of computers and other devices.
> But experts cited by the newspaper said it was unlikely that the NSA would
> be close to creating such a machine without the scientific community being
> aware of it.
> "It seems improbable that the NSA could be that far ahead of the open world
> without anybody knowing it," Scott Aaronson of the Massachusetts Institute
> of Technology told the daily.
> The NSA declined to comment on the report.
> The Post said the leaked documents indicate that the agency carries out
> research in large, shielded rooms known as Faraday cages designed to prevent
> electromagnetic energy from entering or exiting.
> Because of its vast computing power, a working quantum computer would break
> the strongest encryption tools in use today for online activities, including
> banking and emails.
> Some technology firms such as Google and Yahoo have said in recent weeks
> that they were stepping up efforts to encrypt their communications following
> reports that the NSA had been able to break or circumvent many of the
> current encryption standards.
> A September report by The New York Times, ProPublica and The Guardian, also
> based on leaked documents, said US and British spy agencies are able to
> decipher data even with the supposedly secure encryption to make it private.
> The documents indicated that the NSA, working with its British counterpart
> GCHQ, accomplished the feat by using supercomputers, court orders and some
> cooperation from technology companies.
> If the reports are accurate, the highly secretive program would defeat much
> of what is used to keep data secure and private on the Internet, from emails
> to chats to communications using smartphones.
> IBM researchers said last year they had made advances in quantum computing
> that has the potential to outperform any existing supercomputer.
> The new type of computing uses information encoded into quantum bits or
> qubits, putting into use a theory that scientists have been discussing for
> decades.
> Quantum computing expands on the most basic piece of information that a
> typical computer understands -- a bit, and thereby can perform millions of
> calculations at once.