How do you outsmart a computer that could soon eclipse anything we have ever built? That is the challenge facing researchers who are working to build up our defenses against the coming age of quantum computing. 

Quantum computers promise a giant leap in computational power, but they will also bring risks. Their code-breaking capabilities could enable governments or criminals to intercept online communications and steal sensitive data. The threat is not a distant one. 

According to Professor Marcos Curty, a leading expert in quantum communication and cryptography, there is a reasonable probability that the first such computers could be switched on within the next 10 to 15 years.  We need to start preparing now.

“We want to be sure that messages can continue to be sent securely without someone being able to access that information, either now or in the near future,” he said.

Training for Tomorrow
Curty is a communications engineering professor at the University of Vigo in Spain and the scientific director of the Vigo Quantum Communication Center (VQCC) based there. 

Part-funded by the EU, the VQCC officially started in January 2022. It is a key node in the European Quantum Communications Infrastructure – the EU’s flagship effort to build a secure quantum communication infrastructure across Europe.

The aim is to make Vigo an international hub for quantum-safe communications. In line with this ambition, Curty is coordinating an EU-funded training network called Quantum‑Safe Internet (QSI) to develop quantum-resistant cryptography and quantum key distribution technologies. 

Bringing together researchers from five EU countries, as well as from Canada, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the US, the network intends to train young cryptographers for the challenges of a quantum computing world. 
The Clock Is Ticking
Quantum computers may still be a few years off, but the risks are already present. 

“One of our biggest concerns with cryptography is the ‘store now, decrypt later’ concept,” said Silvia Ritsch, a PhD candidate at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. “Someone could store your encrypted communications today and wait until they have the tools to access them in the future.”

The idea is simple, yet serious. Third parties can intercept and store encrypted data now, and wait until more powerful decryption tools, such as quantum computers, are available in the future. Once they have those tools, they can go back and decrypt the stored data, which may still be sensitive or valuable.