According to Cointelegraph, Meta engineers recently warned that "quantum doomsday is coming", that is, the moment when quantum computers will be able to crack standard encryption technology. This threat will affect systems that use standard encryption technology such as banks, satellites, military weapon systems, telecommunications centers, blockchains and cryptocurrency exchanges.
The good news is that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has standardized the first quantum-resistant encryption algorithms, two of which were developed by IBM and other research labs, and the third was created by engineers who have now joined the IBM quantum team. The fourth quantum-resistant algorithm is expected to be standardized by the end of 2024.
Most major institutions have begun implementing quantum-safe encryption protocols with the assistance of government agencies and technology organizations. But new forms of quantum-safe encryption cannot protect data that has already been stolen.
Once organizations implement the new encryption standard, data on currently protected systems will be protected from the threat of future quantum computer attacks. However, this will not retroactively protect data that has already been stolen and stored elsewhere.
The quantum computing industry is still in its infancy, and no system currently exists that can break existing standard encryption in a reasonable amount of time. But malicious actors can steal data without having to decrypt it, simply by waiting for a sufficiently powerful quantum computer to become available.
Meta discussed its measures to ensure future data security in a previous blog post, but did not mention how to deal with data stolen before the new quantum-safe protocols were implemented. Even if all institutions achieve 100% quantum protection by 2024, pre-existing data may still be exposed when "Q-Day" arrives.