IMAGE:This image shows Hamlin and Webb at Washington State University. view more <\/p>\n
Credit: Rebecca Phillips <\/p>\n
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State University mathematicians have designed an encryption code capable of fending off the phenomenal hacking power of a quantum computer. <\/p>\n
Using high-level number theory and cryptography, the researchers reworked an infamous old cipher called the knapsack code to create an online security system better prepared for future demands. <\/p>\n
The findings were recently published in the journal The Fibonacci Quarterly. <\/p>\n
Quantum computers are near <\/p>\n
Quantum computers operate on the subatomic level and theoretically provide processing power that is millions, if not billions of times faster than silicon-based computers. Several companies are in the race to develop quantum computers including Google. <\/p>\n
Internet security is no match for a quantum computer, said Nathan Hamlin, instructor and director of the WSU Math Learning Center. That could spell future trouble for online transactions ranging from buying a book on Amazon to simply sending an email. <\/p>\n
Hamlin said quantum computers would have no trouble breaking present security codes, which rely on public key encryption to protect the exchanges. <\/p>\n
In a nutshell, public key code uses one public \"key\" for encryption and a second private \"key\" for decoding. The system is based on the factoring of impossibly large numbers and, so far, has done a good job keeping computers safe from hackers. <\/p>\n
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