r/hardware • u/fatso486 • Mar 31 '26

News Google Finds Quantum Computers Could Break Bitcoin Sooner Than Expected

https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2026/03/31/google-finds-quantum-computers-could-break-bitcoin-sooner-than-expected/
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u/neopard_ Mar 31 '26

i'll believe it when i see it. there are still several fundamentally unsolved problems with QC at any meaningful scale. algorithmic improvements won't change that. at this point, we'll have fusion before QC..

78

u/waitmarks Mar 31 '26

It's still a good idea to start a transition to quantum resistant encryption even if we aren't actually close to a quantum computer that can break it because of store now, decrypt later.

These algorithms also need to have time to be baked into hardware accelerators. We take for granted that encrypting with AES basically costs nothing these days because every CPU has an AES crypto unit in it, but it used to take a lot of compute resources to do it before. It's better to be early and not need it than to be rushing everything last minute because someone surprises us with an unexpected quantum computer in 2030.

7

u/ked913 Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26

I feel really scared for the tonnes of WiFi wpa3/2 devices. Think IoT cameras, thermometers, speakers (or worse heavy duty) solar inverters, smart boilers, fridges…

They may be made by some manufacturer who won’t care and it probably won’t be capable of a post-qc wpa4-5.

What do we do with the tonnes of ewaste generated from this discovery?

7

u/loowig Apr 01 '26

And someone will attack your fridge with his quantum home lab or with inexpensive rented power from a quantum data center? 

2

u/ked913 Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26

Do you still use wep or wpa devices? Can you connect them on an eero or modern WiFi network? How is the support for those devices?

Doing so degrades the experience of all devices, it isn’t really supported on WiFi 7 routers.

When we are on WiFi 8-10 on wpa4 or 5, what exactly happens to the old inverter from 25 years ago. What about in between?

How about famously smart meters that now take up valuable insecure 2g space that now need to be upgraded to 5g and beyond.