Quantum Computing and Information Security

Quantum computing, if realized on a large and commercial scale, will provide significantly more powerful computers that could threaten global information security. Modern methods for encrypting data could become obsolete as quantum computing methods break methods used now by more traditional computing techniques. Commercial machines that make use of quantum algorithms to reduce problem sizes of cracking encryptions, if current development trends in quantum computing continue, could be completed sooner rather than later. Such super-fast computing machines would threaten data and network security, resulting in a threat to the global economy. To ease the transition to this more powerful form of computing, such as quantum safe encryption, researchers need to focus on methods for preventing data insecurity. This paper looks at methods of securing data transmission and possible security flaws that could be easily exploited by a proposed quantum computer.