Knowledge Sharing Article: DATA PROTECTION IN A QUANTUM WORLD

With the evolution of Quantum Computing, humanity learned about the paradigm shift that the potential of Quantum Mechanics could bring to their computational needs. Regular number-crunching operations that would typically require immense CPU and GPU processing power, could now be done in a much shorter time span if we could replace classical computers with quantum computers. Unlike classical machines that store and process data and information in the form of digital bits (0 and 1), quantum computers do so in the form of quantum bits or qubits, which can take the values 0 or 1, or a linear combination of both the states, represented by the probabilities of the qubit existing in one of them. Hence, increasing the number of qubits would allow calculations to be performed on all the states simultaneously, thereby exponentially scaling the power of compute. This property is termed as Quantum Superposition. In a world striving to increase data transmission speeds, qubits have the capability to transfer information between one another almost instantaneously, regardless of the distance between them, by a
property called Quantum Entanglement.

Replacing conventional circuits with these sophisticated quantum circuits clearly add advantages to our compute requirements. However, these efficiencies come with a cost. Qubits are known to be intrinsically unstable and isolating them to reduce their degradation adds a lot of expense. Reducing the noise produced with increasing qubit count is another challenge that needs to be addressed. Assuming all the technical requirements to run a quantum computer
have been met, we would then have to worry about the logical and ethical implications that it could produce. A machine of such capabilities would be able to break down heavily encrypted digital cryptography systems, introducing a new era of cyberattacks, all on a quantum level.

This article discusses this exact point, beginning with a brief introduction on quantum computing and what makes it a necessity despite its complexities. Beyond this, we discuss the possibility of quantum computers becoming a double-edged sword that could massively disrupt the data protection industry as it exists today. Are quantum computers of the future a boon… or a bane?

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