In the science and technology magazine American Scientist, Gretchen Matthews discusses how the key to safe encrypted information relies on pinpointing a mathematical problem that’s difficult for both current and future computers to solve.
By Kelly Izlar
Gretchen Matthews (at right) works with Hailey Egan ´23. Matthews is investigating ways to improve code-based cryptography schemes — one of the few cryptosystems that are resilient to cyberattacks from both today’s computers and quantum computers of the future. Photo by Kelly Izlar for Virginia Tech.
The cybersecurity that protects sensitive online data relies heavily upon how hard it would be to solve a type of really, really hard math problem.
The bad news: Quantum computers are really, really good at solving the types of problems currently used. The good news: Cryptographers and coding theorists around the world are hunting for new problems that are hard for both contemporary and quantum computers to solve.
