According to President Emmanuel Macron, the French embassy in Washington has transmitted the first diplomatic letter to be encrypted to withstand post-quantum computers.
“Tomorrow, a sufficiently powerful quantum computer will be able to break all cryptographic algorithms and decode our messages,” Macron wrote on Twitter.
“To counter this threat, developing post-quantum encryption technologies is a strategic concern. And that’s what we’re doing!”
Quantum computing is a rapidly developing technology that uses advancements in information theory and scientific understanding of the subatomic realm to solve mathematical problems that are currently intractable by ordinary computers.
While conventional computers utilize bits, which can be represented by 0 or 1, quantum computers employ qubits, which can simultaneously be both 0 and 1. This allows them to handle more challenging tasks than standard computers can.
A letter on field collaboration with the United States was included in France’s first “post-quantum” encrypted message, which was sent on Wednesday.
The encrypted transmission was sent using software developed by a startup company named CryptoNext, according to a statement from the Paris foreign ministry.
As part of a larger 1.8 billion euro drive to develop various quantum technologies, France has allocated 150 million euros ($157 million) to quantum-resistant cryptography, the ministry noted.
The announcement claimed that the measure “is a precursor to changes in France’s critical digital infrastructure” and that a government “action plan” for “migration to post-quantum cryptography” would be released in the first quarter of 2023.
In May, the White House unveiled its own strategy to help businesses and spy agencies transition to post-quantum cryptography.
To read our blog on “PureVPN’s, VPN now has quantum-resistant encryption keys,” click here.
