Ep394: Post-Quantum Cryptography — Preparing for the Future of Security 🔐

You may be vaguely aware of the term ‘quantum computing’ from media reports. But what you may not have picked up on is that one of the primary uses for quantum computers may be to break data encryption. Furthermore, you may not realize that if three-letter agencies can save off our encrypted emails and messages now, this could mean they could read them in the future when sufficiently powerful quantum computing becomes viable. How does this work? And what can we do about it now to protect our privacy in the future? We’ll dig into all of this today with Brandon Sundh from Tuta (formerly Tutanota), a prominent secure email company, who is already deploying such protections.
Interview Notes

* Try Tuta! https://tuta.com/
* Tuta’s quantum-safe crypto: https://tuta.com/blog/post-quantum-cryptography
* Quantum mechanics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics
* Schrödinger’s cat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger’s_cat
* NIST post-quantum standards: https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/post-quantum-cryptography
* NSA pays RSA to weaken encryption?: https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/20/us-usa-security-rsa-idUSBRE9BJ1C220131220/
* Longer passwords are better: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/need-a-bigger-password-haystack/
* Privacy Guides on Proton Wallet: https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2024/09/08/proton-wallet-review/#why-does-this-exist

Further Info

* Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna
* Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book
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* Become a patron! https://www.patreon.com/FirewallsDontStopDragons
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* Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons
* Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support
* Generate secure passphrases! https://d20key.com/#/

Table of Contents

Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.

* 0:02:50: Some terminology first
* 0:07:33: What is quantum computing and what’s it good for?
* 0:16:25: What are the currrent capabilities of quantum computers?
* 0:22:02: How long have we been working on quantum computers?
* 0:25:01: If QC is still so far off, why do we need to prepare now?
* 0:30:53: How do we design encryption to make it safe against quantum computers?
* 0:36:10: How can we be sure that the NSA isn’t buillding backdoors into these algorithms?
* 0:41:11: Will post-quantum algorithms replace current ones or augment them?
* 0:45:51: How soon will quantum-safe crypto be roled out?
* 0:52:42: Who will be able to own and operate these quantum computers?
* 0:54:45: Are law enforcement agencies pushing back against quantum-safe crypto?
* 1:00:34: Who is more likely to win: coder makers or code breakers?
* 1:04:24: Wrap-up
* 1:05:55: Looking ahead