kvanttivarmuudet

Kvanttivarmuudet is a Finnish term that translates to "quantum security" or "quantum-safe cryptography." It refers to the field of cryptography that aims to develop and implement cryptographic algorithms and systems that are resistant to attacks from quantum computers.

Classical computers process information as bits, which can be either 0 or 1. Quantum computers, on the other hand, use qubits, which can represent 0, 1, or a superposition of both. This allows quantum computers to perform certain calculations exponentially faster than classical computers. This speedup poses a significant threat to many of the public-key cryptographic algorithms currently in use, such as RSA and ECC, which rely on the computational difficulty of factoring large numbers or solving discrete logarithm problems.

The development of quantum computers capable of breaking current encryption standards is still some time away, but the need for quantum-safe solutions is urgent. This is because data encrypted today could be harvested and stored by adversaries, to be decrypted later once powerful quantum computers become available. This is often referred to as the "harvest now, decrypt later" threat.

The field of kvanttivarmuudet is actively researching and developing two main approaches to achieve quantum security. The first is post-quantum cryptography (PQC), which focuses on developing new classical algorithms that are believed to be resistant to quantum computer attacks. These algorithms are based on different mathematical problems that are thought to be hard even for quantum computers. The second approach is quantum cryptography, which utilizes the principles of quantum mechanics itself to ensure secure communication. Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a prominent example, where the laws of physics guarantee that any attempt to eavesdrop on the key exchange will be detectable.

Standardization efforts are underway globally to select and approve PQC algorithms for future use. The transition to quantum-safe cryptography will be a complex and lengthy process, requiring careful planning and implementation across various sectors.