Opinion by: Eli Ben-Sasson, CEO of StarkWare
The emergence of Google's Willow quantum chip opens up great opportunities while also posing serious threats to the technology industry. Almost everything that uses encryption, from identity services to online payments, could be compromised when quantum computers arrive.
However, I am not afraid, and you should not worry either.
Quantum computers use quantum mechanics to solve certain problems significantly faster than classical computers. With Willow, Google has achieved a significant breakthrough in this field. Willow will perform calculations in just a few minutes, while current computers take a long time. This development could pose challenges for any platform or service using encryption — including blockchain technology — as quantum computers approach the ability to break encryption algorithms that traditional supercomputers cannot.
As expected, much of the discussion focused on the potential risks to Cryptocurrency. While quantum computers could broadly impact our technology, they present an interesting challenge for the encryption-based sector, as their name suggests.
Cryptographic primitives
Blockchain uses cryptographic primitives, such as elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), to secure transactions, wallets, and private keys. This system is designed for classical computers, but quantum computers with enough qubits — the basic units of quantum computation — can break ECC by solving its underlying mathematical problem. We are concerned about the day when an attacker with an advanced quantum computer could compromise private keys, steal money, forge transactions, and disrupt the integrity of the blockchain.
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There is now a pretty good solution to this problem: an advanced type of encryption called zero-knowledge proofs (ZK-proofs), one of the most exciting mathematical technologies of the 21st century. ZK-proofs have been used in blockchain projects to make transactions faster and cheaper while enhancing user privacy protection.
Everyone in blockchain has heard of these sophisticated proofs that allow you to pack hundreds of thousands of transactions into space on Ethereum that previously you only needed for one. However, few people in blockchain know that some ZK-proofs have special features that could become a lifeline. The most prominent ZK-proofs today are always post-quantum secure, meaning quantum computers cannot break them.
There is a common misconception that when the first quantum computer is plugged in, its owner will hold the universal key for all encryption and passwords in the universe. That is an exaggeration, but you get my point.
That also overlooks an important point. Not long ago, stealing a car was very easy by manipulating a few wires under the dashboard. Ignition systems were mechanical, and starting a car without a key was simply a matter of bypassing the ignition switch. Features like electronic ignition, immobilizers, and push-to-start systems have made cars much smarter and safer.
Keys and locks today are different. In fact, all security systems are different. Security systems in the future will be very different from today.
In our area of interest, Cryptocurrency, where we have spent years exploring ZK technology, we are well-prepared to face the challenges and opportunities of quantum computing head-on.
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Why is ZK math ready for quantum computers?
This is not as complicated as you think. The popular encryption schemes today, used across the web by your bank and other institutions you trust — like RSA or various elliptic curve-based encryptions — are no longer secure against quantum adversaries. This is not true for STARKs, which are based only on a more fundamental cryptographic primitive: hash functions. These functions need to remain secure against quantum computers.
This is not encryption 'done better.' It's a different type of encryption. Think of it this way: Passwords today are like needles hidden in the largest haystack you've ever seen. You don't know my password because neither you nor your computer can penetrate that haystack. Think of quantum computers as a super magnet that can instantly find that needle.
However, there is a completely different type of encryption. Instead of searching for a needle in a haystack, you are looking for a specific piece of grass in a large pile of grass. No magnet can help you, and no quantum computer can find it either. Even if you have a bigger or better magnet, it won't help. Even if you build a more powerful quantum computer, it still won't make a difference.
All of the above makes it easy for me to sleep at night because we have a roadmap. To confront quantum computers, we do not yet need complete solutions, we do not yet need quantum security chains, but we need a roadmap leading to solutions, core technologies that can translate into practical solutions. Is Starknet, the permissionless L2 based on STARKs, ready for quantum computers tomorrow? No. The proofs powering the system, however, are post-quantum secure. There is a clear pathway to implement the necessary changes. Like everything in the blockchain space, I expect to see more and more discussions and alternatives for the post-quantum challenge — as many as possible.
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Recognizing that ZK technology provides solutions to a large part of the challenges of quantum computers not only means that blockchain is 'saved' from being compromised. It has deeper significance for all who come to Cryptocurrency by the beauty of the vision. The vision is that encryption can be a source of truth and integrity and help address humanity's most modern challenges. Once again, it rises to serve its purpose.
Eli Ben-Sasson is the CEO and co-founder of StarkWare. A former scholar, he entered blockchain through theoretical computer science. He has researched cryptographic proofs and zero-knowledge proofs, now used to provide scalable blockchain protocols, since he received his Ph.D. in Theoretical Computer Science from the Hebrew University in 2001. He is a co-inventor of the STARK, FRI, and Zerocash protocols and is a founding scientist at Zcash Company. He has held research positions at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, Harvard, MIT, and most recently, a professor of computer science at Technion in Israel.