2017-05-07

Chinese Researchers Use Diamond to Crack RSA Encryption

SCMP:How a Chinese diamond experiment may help crack one of the world’s toughest codes
In their experiment, quantum physicists in Hefei, Anhui province, reportedly broke down the number 35 into its factors – the numbers five and seven – on a new type of quantum computing device built inside a diamond.
The process, known as factorisation, is the key to cracking the most popular digital algorithm used in encryption today.

...In the experiment, laser and microwave beams were fired at particles trapped inside the diamond’s “nitrogen-vacancy centre”, a tiny space ideal for subatomic interaction. The particles came up with the solution in two microseconds, less than half of the time it takes for lightning to strike.

Speed is key to code-cracking and quantum computers have the potential to dramatically cut the time needed to break an encryption thanks to a phenomenon called entanglement.

...An enormous amount of digital computing power and thousands of years would be needed to determine the prime numbers used in the RSA system.

But, in theory, a quantum computer could break a RSA code in the blink of an eye.

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