Fewer than 10% of organizations worldwide have prepared for the threats posed by quantum computing, a technology capable of breaking ciphers and opening the way to large-scale cyberattacks. IBM Vice President for Europe and Africa Alessandro Curioni said this to AFP on Wednesday on the sidelines of a conference in London organized by the American technology giant.
IBM, which competes with Microsoft and Google, plans to build a large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computer for commercial clients by 2029. Such a computer will be able to reliably perform calculations unavailable to classical machines. Quantum computers use the properties of quantum physics to process data quickly and can help solve complex problems, for example in developing new drugs or materials.
However, these same machines are capable of breaking the ciphers that protect important data and communications. The United Kingdom is already urging organizations to strengthen their information systems. Curioni, who also heads IBM's research laboratory in Zurich, warned of possible consequences for the internet, all blockchains, banks, financial contracts and digital signatures. According to him, attackers could act in a chain: first attack financial institutions, then industry, then banks.
Existing quantum computers are not yet powerful enough for such attacks, and it is unknown when they will reach the required level. Nevertheless, David Debnham, director of operational risk at British insurer Aviva, noted at the conference: the biggest risk is that the data has probably already been collected. If attackers accumulate large volumes of information, they will be able to decrypt it when quantum computers become powerful enough.
The United Kingdom recommends that organizations switch to quantum-resistant cryptographic systems by 2035. The United States, China and France are also involved in developing quantum computing. According to McKinsey estimates, by 2035 this technology could bring up to $2.7 trillion in economic benefit. Curioni believes the benefits of quantum computing will be enormous: in combination with the abstract thinking of artificial intelligence, the technology will make it possible to model problems that are too complex from a physical standpoint.