China could soon target heavily encrypted datasets such as weapon designs or details of undercover intelligence officers with a view to unlocking them at a later date when quantum computing makes decryption possible, according to a report from Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH). Titled “Chinese threats in the quantum era”, the report states that “encrypted data with intelligence longevity, like biometric markers, covert intelligence officer and source identities, social security numbers, and weapons’ designs, may be increasingly stolen under the expectation that they can eventually be decrypted,” by “state-aligned cyber threat actors”.
The report also warns that the quantum apocalypse is “just years away” and that quantum computers will be able to perform faster and more precise computations than classical computers and could pose geo-military threats if in the wrong hands.
Read more at forbes.com
