[ad_1]
2 hours ago
In 2018, blockchain operations are on the rise for shipping, finance and other industries partly due to cryptographic structures that secure financial transactions.
Unfortunately, some computer experts warn that the security of the blockchain is based on digital computing, whose security features may soon be violated by next-generation quantum computers.
In November 22ndNDnumber of the scientific journal, Nature, a team of experts of Russian quantum computers reported on the vulnerability of blockchain in an article entitled "Quantum computers put the safety of blockchain at risk".
The Russians claim that quantum computers "will soon be able to outperform" conventional digital computers "on certain tasks." One of these examples, they say, "is breaking security protocols based on cryptographic algorithms, as the mathematician Peter Shor pointed out in 1994 … A blockchain is particularly at risk because one-way functions are his only line of defense. .. The crack of digital signatures is therefore the most imminent threat.A malefactor equipped with a quantum computer could use the Shor algorithm to falsify any digital signature, impersonate that user and take possession of digital resources. "
The functions used to protect the Internet and financial transactions will become "instantly obsolete" by quantum computers within the next ten years, they warn.
The authors, Aleksey Fedorov, Evgeniy Kiktenko and Alexander Lvovsky, are associated with the Russian Quantum Center in Moscow. They note that strengthening security and the use of alternative cryptography could help to save time for existing blockchain systems.
However, "the long-term response is to develop and strengthen the quantum communication network and, subsequently, the internet quantum, which will require significant investment from governments".
The authors note that China, the United States and the European Union will be "among the first adopters" of quantum computing technology and urge greater investment in research: "We need to give these risks much more urgently – their impact could be serious ".
