The invention of quantum computers poses a global threat to internet security. This is because they have the processing power necessary to break the majority of the encryption algorithms that currently protect most of the world’s data. They achieve this by using quantum physics to perform a lot more efficiently than traditional supercomputers.
Before you panic, it’s worth noting that, as it stands, quantum computers are only being used for research purposes, so you’re unlikely to find one outside of a research center, such as a university, research lab, or supercomputer center. But experts are predicting that at some point in the next five years, this will change and quantum computers will start being used to break the encryption that has, up until now, kept most of the sensitive data on the internet from being hacked. This event is referred to as Q-day.
