The UK's Cyber Security in a Quantum World
Cryptography is fundamental to the functioning of the modern internet. Without it, secure communications, from online banking to classified government systems, are put at risk.
Quantum computers pose a threat to cryptography. Predictions made in the 1990s posit that modern decryption will be broken by quantum computers. Measures are increasingly prioritised by national security agencies and others to mitigate the threat as we continue to witness advances in this technology.
Standard-enforcements bodies and national security agencies are planning for a post-quantum world. In August of this year the UK National Cyber Security Centre – the NCSC – released a white paper setting out its vision for how to secure systems against quantum decryption. This advice repeated the agency’s position that it has taken since 2020: it will not support government departments or the military to use quantum key distribution. Instead, they should adopt post-quantum cryptography.
Why does the NCSC take this position?
Joe Jarnecki, Research Fellow in RUSI’s Cyber and Tech team, explains more:
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Joseph Jarnecki
Research Fellow
Cyber and Tech
