A recent presentation by Peter Gutmann, a well-respected computer scientist and cryptographer in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, discusses the impending crisis of quantum computing. It’s called ‘Why Quantum Cryptanalysis is Bollocks‘.
Well… discusses might not be the right word — it’s more of an ‘emperor’s new clothes’ truth-to-power kind of piece. It strongly lays out the reasons why Peter is sceptical that quantum computing has achieved its goals of ‘quantum supremacy’ or that the entire cryptography industry needs to rush into the new post-quantum crypto world.
He also sees this as a classic example of the ‘one big investment’ approach, which can waste significant effort, funding, and materials on a solution that ultimately doesn’t address the problem at hand.
As far as Peter is concerned (and he should know, having worked in this field extensively for over two decades), the problem has been massively overstated — likely for reasons unrelated to risk and more to do with the structural needs of an industry that has grown large and complacent.
Peter is also concerned about the lack of in-depth critique, noting that the problems being addressed are frankly trivial, and the claims of growth in stable QBIT systems are being misunderstood. He believes that people at large have failed to apply critical thinking to the evidence presented or to the risks in current attacks on cryptographic methods that we use and depend on — they’ve essentially been ‘bigged up’.
The presentation pack is well worth reading. It’s packed with sharp illustrations of people misunderstanding the world on a grand scale, as well as plenty of blunt, pointed words about the misrepresentation of the state of play.
I wonder if he could be persuaded to write one about Artificial Intelligence.
The views expressed by the authors of this blog are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of APNIC. Please note a Code of Conduct applies to this blog.