Quantum Computers May Break Today’s Internet Security, Warns New Report

A new report by India’s cyber agency CERT-In and cybersecurity firm SISA says the world is moving fast from a digital economy to a quantum economy. Quantum computers, once only in labs, are now becoming real tools that can change technology and security worldwide.

The report, called ‘Transitioning to Quantum Cyber Readiness’, explains that companies like Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Quantinuum are making big progress in quantum computing. For example, Google’s Willow chip now has 105 qubits with better error correction, and Microsoft’s Majorana-1 processor is aiming to reach a million qubits in the future. IBM wants to build strong quantum systems by 2029, while Quantinuum has made a precise 56-qubit computer. Nokia is also working on quantum networking.

Because of these advances, the United Nations has declared 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.

However, the report warns that quantum computers can easily break current encryption systems used for online banking, digital signatures, messaging apps, and even blockchain security. This could cause huge data leaks and risks to global digital security.

There is also a danger of “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks, where hackers collect encrypted data today and wait to unlock it in the future using quantum computers. This threatens financial data, health records, and secure communications.

The report says organisations must quickly understand and update their encryption systems to prepare for a future with quantum computers, or they may face serious security problems.