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Quantum computers are coming to break our codes faster than anyone expected

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · · 922 words · By Craig Costello
Post-Quantum Cryptography Cybersecurity Transition Quantum Computing Threat
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What to know about Post-Quantum Cryptography

The article discusses the evolving threat quantum computing poses to current cryptographic standards, noting that both hardware advancements and algorithmic refinements are reducing the resources needed to break encryption. It highlights efforts by tech companies and national agencies to transition toward post-quantum cryptography to mitigate these future risks.

Propaganda risk 20%
Claims checked 15
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Assuming everyone is careful with passwords and other protections, you can think of it as being locked in a vault so strong that even all the world’s supercomputers, working together for 10,000 years, could not crack it.

Why it matters

But last month, Google and others released results suggesting a new kind of computer – a quantum computer – might be able to open the vault with significantly less resources than previously thought.

Common ground

On one, tech giants such as IBM and Google are racing to build ever-larger quantum computers: IBM hopes to achieve a genuine advantage over classical computers in some special cases this year, and an even more powerful “fault-tolerant” system by 2029.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The article discusses the evolving threat quantum computing poses to current cryptographic standards, noting that both hardware advancements and algorithmic refinements are reducing the resources needed to break encryption. It highlights efforts by tech companies and national agencies to transition toward post-quantum cryptography to mitigate these future risks.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/quantum-computers-are-coming-to-break-our-codes-fast…

analyticsAnalysis

20%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5
check_circle Corroborated 4
verified Verified By Reference 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
help
Claim 1: “the study shows how a quantum computer with fewer than half a million physical qubits may be able to crack it [elliptic curve encryption] in minutes.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific qubit count (500,000) needed to crack elliptic curve encryption in minutes.
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Claim 2: “IBM hopes to achieve a genuine advantage over classical computers in some special cases this year, and an even more powerful “fault-tolerant” system by 2029.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm IBM's goals: 'IBM Quantum Loon' targets fault-tolerant computing by 2029, and other sources mention paths to quantum advantage by 2025/2026.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — International Business Machines Corporation, doing business as IBM (nicknamed Big Blue), is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 coun…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150), often referred to as the IBM PC, is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Release…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_Computer
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a family of computer systems announced by IBM on April 7, 1964, and delivered between 1965 and 1978. System/360 was the first family of computers designed to cover both c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_System/360
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 3: “a March 2026 preprint from a Caltech–Berkeley–Oratomic collaboration explores what might be possible using neutral-atom quantum computers.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 4: “PsiQuantum is using light-based qubits and traditional chip-manufacturing technology.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm PsiQuantum uses photonic (light-based) qubits and leverages standard semiconductor manufacturing processes.
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web search NEUTRAL — Photonic qubits avoid exotic materials and fabrication processes and are able to leverage the existing reliability, volume, and precision of standard semiconductor manufacturing.
https://www.psiquantum.com/technology
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web search NEUTRAL — Founded in 2016, PsiQuantum is pursuing a photonic approach to quantum computing, using light-based qubits manufactured through standard semiconductor processes.
https://pulse2.com/psiquantum-1-billion-at-7-billion-valuati…
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web search NEUTRAL — Light. At the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, Palo Alto–based PsiQuantum is constructing a facility designed to house a quantum system targeting 1M qubits, a scale researchers have spent d…
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/devcuration_quantumcomputing-…
schedule
Claim 5: “In one design they propose, a system with around 26,000 qubits could crack Bitcoin’s encryption in a few days”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 6: “NIST has standardised several post-quantum cryptographic algorithms which are believed to be resistant to quantum attacks.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 7: “Experimental platforms such as neutral-atom systems have demonstrated control over thousands of qubits in laboratory settings.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm neutral-atom quantum computing (Rydberg arrays) as a flagship platform and mention state-of-the-art systems reaching around 1,000 qubits, supporting the claim of laboratory-scale control over large numbers of qubits.
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web search NEUTRAL — Quantum computers are built from quantum bits, or qubits, which use the counterintuitive properties of very tiny objects to carry out computations in a different and sometimes far more efficient way f…
https://theconversation.com/quantum-computers-are-coming-to-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Neutral-atom quantum computers — Rydberg arrays of laser-trapped atoms — went from research curiosity to flagship-tier platform between 2022 and 2025.Pick neutral atoms over other platforms when: Qubi…
https://quantumoutpost.com/tutorials/35-neutral-atom-quantum…
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web search NEUTRAL — Illustration of a neutral-atom array. Credit: Will Lab, Columbia University. For quantum computers to outperform their classical counterparts, they need more quantum bits, or qubits. State-of-the-art …
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-neutral-atom-arrays-rapidly-em…
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Claim 8: “Late last year, IBM unveiled a 120-qubit chip which it hopes will demonstrate a quantum advantage for some tasks.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results specifically identify the 'IBM Quantum Nighthawk' as a 120-qubit processor designed to execute more complex calculations than its predecessor to move toward quantum advantage.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — International Business Machines Corporation, doing business as IBM (nicknamed Big Blue), is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 coun…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — IBM Cloud is a cloud computing platform offered by the information technology company IBM that provides a suite of services including infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Cloud
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — IBM Granite is a series of decoder-only AI foundation models created by IBM. It was announced on September 7, 2023, and an initial paper was published 4 days later. Initially intended for use in the I…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Granite
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 9: “In March 2026, Google’s Quantum AI team released a detailed study showing that far fewer resources may be needed to attack a different kind of encryption which uses mathematical objects called elliptic curves.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results for a March 2026 study by Google's Quantum AI team.
schedule
Claim 10: “The researchers estimate that Shor’s algorithm could be implemented with as few as 10,000–20,000 atomic qubits.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 11: “Google Chrome and Cloudflare, for example, already support post-quantum protections in some protocols and services.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 12: “In the United States, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has proposed a transition away from quantum-vulnerable cryptography, with migration largely completed by 2035.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While NIST is confirmed as an agency, the provided evidence does not mention the specific 2035 migration timeline for post-quantum cryptography.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The World Trade Center, in Lower Manhattan, New York City, was destroyed after a series of terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, killing almost 3,000 people at the site. Two commercial airliners hi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse_of_the_World_Trade_Ce…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — NIST may refer to: National Institute of Standards and Technology, a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce NIST University, an unitary technical university in Pallur Hills…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NIST_(disambiguation)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST'…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Institute_of_Standard…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 13: “Peter Shor’s 1994 discovery of an algorithm that showed how quantum computers could efficiently find the prime factors of very large numbers.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web sources explicitly confirm that Peter Shor developed the algorithm for finding prime factors of integers in 1994.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Miriam Shor (born July 25, 1971) is an American actress. She gained prominence for her performance in the Off-Broadway rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch (1998–2000) and in the 2001 film adaptati…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Shor
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shor's algorithm is a quantum algorithm for finding the prime factors of an integer. It was developed in 1994 by the American mathematician Peter Shor. It is one of the few known quantum algorithms wi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shor's_algorithm
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following timeline of algorithms outlines the development of algorithms (mainly "mathematical recipes") since their inception.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_algorithms
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 14: “In Australia, the Australian Signals Directorate has issued similar guidance, urging organisations to begin planning immediately and transition to post-quantum cryptography by 2030.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Evidence confirms the existence of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), but does not mention the specific 2030 guidance for post-quantum cryptography transition.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the successor to the Cyber Security Operations Centre, is the Australian Government's lead agency for cyber security. The ACSC is part of the Australian Si…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Cyber_Security_Cent…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), formerly the Defence Signals Directorate, is a statutory agency of the Government of Australia responsible for signals intelligence, providing intelligence su…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Signals_Directorate
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Australian intelligence community (AIC) and the National Intelligence Community (NIC) or National Security Community of the Australian Government are the collectives of statutory intelligence agen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_intelligence_commun…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 15: “Google also recently announced it planned to speed up its move to adopt encryption techniques that should be safe against quantum computers, known as post-quantum cryptography.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for Google is generic (Wikipedia bio, search homepage) and does not mention post-quantum cryptography or specific adoption plans.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Google LLC (/ ˈɡuː.ɡəl / ⓘ, GOO-gəl) is an American multinational technology corporation focused on information technology, online advertising, search engine technology, email, cloud computing, softwa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
https://www.google.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Plan your trip with Google. Find flights, hotels, vacation rentals, things to do, and more.
https://www.google.us/travel/
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.