Quantum computers change the math of security. With Shor’s algorithm, a sufficiently large, fault-tolerant quantum computer can factor large integers and solve discrete logs efficiently.
Encryption methods like RSA and ECC (which would take classical machines millennia to break) might be cracked in minutes by a sufficiently advanced quantum processor.
Symmetric ciphers fare better, but Grover’s algorithm trims their safety margins, which is why AES-256 is the safer default for now.
This matters now because adversaries can harvest-now, decrypt-later: capture encrypted data today and unlock it once practical quantum machines exist. That includes long-lived secrets—health records, IP, legal files, and government archives—where confidentiality needs to last years or decades.
The global response is a sprint to post-quantum cryptography (PQC): new algorithms designed to resist known quantum attacks. Standards bodies have picked the first wave, and vendors are rolling out hybrids and crypto-agile designs so systems can migrate without going dark. The goal is simple: swap out vulnerable key exchanges and signatures across TLS, VPNs, code-signing, and messaging before the clock runs out.
One approach remains information-theoretically secure: the One-Time Pad (OTP). When implemented correctly—truly random keys, as long as the message, never reused—OTP is provably unbreakable, quantum or not. The trade-off is key generation, distribution, and lifecycle rigor at scale.
Necron B brings OTP to practical file protection: a hardware key + desktop app that generates and manages one-time key material, enforces non-reuse, and keeps keys off the OS. You encrypt locally and can store the ciphertext anywhere (cloud, USB, other machines); only the registered Necron B can decrypt.
