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To: Physicist
Of course, a quantum computer can factor a big number with only a few operations. It would not surprise me in the least to hear that the NSA has them.

For quantum computers, we're up to, what, 7 qubits now? It would take just over 2048 qubits to crack 1024-bit encryption.

85 posted on 04/14/2006 1:48:34 PM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: antiRepublicrat
For quantum computers, we're up to, what, 7 qubits now?

That depends what you mean by "we". That's university research, which doesn't necessarily involve the very best people, nor very many people, and doesn't have a lot of funding.

The NSA can spend a gigantic amount of money on something they consider to be important, and quantum computation cuts to the very core of its mission. It could lay the world's secrets absolutely bare.

If they're not spending hundreds of millions to tens of billions of dollars right now to crack this problem as soon as possible, then they aren't doing their jobs. But if they are doing their jobs, "we" won't hear about it until long after the fact.

89 posted on 04/14/2006 2:56:32 PM PDT by Physicist
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