The advance was incremental at best. So why did so many think it was a breakthrough?
There’s little doubt that some of the most important pillars of modern cryptography will tumble spectacularly once quantum computing, now in its infancy, matures sufficiently. Some experts say that could be in the next couple decades. Others say it could take longer. No one knows.
The uncertainty leaves a giant vacuum that can be filled with alarmist pronouncements that the world is close to seeing the downfall of cryptography as we know it. The false pronouncements can take on a life of their own as they’re repeated by marketers looking to peddle post-quantum cryptography snake oil and journalists tricked into thinking the findings are real. And a new episode of exaggerated research has been playing out for the past few weeks.
...read more at arstechnica.com
Very interesting turn of events. I had already highlighted that 50 bits is nowhere from breaking military grade RSA (see #735995), but this shows it's even worse than that. Thanks for sharing, I was consciously not clicking anymore on any article referencing this infamous paper as I thought it was a closed story. Turns out it isn't.
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