Quantum Leap: The End of Secrets (and How to Save Them)
6 chapters · Qubits → Shor's Algorithm → Harvest Now → Post-Quantum Crypto → QKD → What To Do
Incoming transmission
In 1994, a mathematician named Peter Shor published an algorithm that could, in theory, break every piece of encryption protecting your bank account, your messages, and the internet itself. He didn't have a computer fast enough to run it. He still doesn't — and neither does anyone else. Yet.
That 'yet' is doing a lot of work. Quantum computers are real, they're getting better every year, and the organizations that handle your most sensitive data are in the middle of the largest cryptographic infrastructure replacement in history. Most of it is happening invisibly — your browser is already using post-quantum encryption on some connections right now, without any action on your part.
This manual explains what quantum computers actually are (not the sci-fi version), which encryption they break and why, what the replacement looks like, and what you should actually do about any of it. Fair warning: some of the physics is genuinely strange. Einstein thought it was nonsense. He was wrong. You're going to need to sit with the weirdness for a moment.
Start with Chapter 1 if you want to understand the hardware. Skip to Chapter 2 if you already know what a qubit is and want to get to the part where the encryption breaks. Either way: the future of cryptography is already being written. You should know what's in it.
— Dr. Evelyn Marsh, Cryptographic Systems Analyst
