David Cooper

There are like quantum safe encryption methods that traditional computers can do, but they're expensive and they're not well researched and stuff.

The scary thing for me

If you used an encryption algorithm, let's say in ancient times, and no one could crack it, but now we see like encrypted messages passed on in ancient Latin or something like that, and we figure out the code, we can read those historic messages.

It's like at the time the Germans were using the Enigma machine, no one could crack it.

But as long as they recorded what those messages were, at a later date when they cracked it, they could figure out what the messages were.

Yeah.

Retroactive decryption.

Wow.

This is why we pay you the big bucks.

You know the big words.

So I guess what I'm scared of is like, okay, that weird message thread that you sent to the woman you're having an affair with.

Yes, it was encrypted.

Okay.

But if someone just stored the encrypted data, yes, they couldn't read it.

But if they just stored it, when quantum computers break all encryption, they'll be able to decrypt your previous messages.

Oh, yeah.

Why am I scared of this?

Like, what if someone is just logging all your bank transactions or logging every password attempt you make on the Internet?

Yes, that data is encrypted.

But if they just have it and store it five years from now, well, Google saying up to three years from now, if this technology exists, they can then see everything you ever did securely.