The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) is reportedly developing a futuristic quantum computer that can crack almost all type of encryptions.
Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, leaked classified documents to the media in June 2013, which revealed the agency's secretive and mysterious operations. Since then, the NSA has been surrounded with controversies as more and more of the agency's internal work are getting revealed.
According to The Washington Post, the NSA seems to have big plans of building a super computer that can hack into almost all computer systems. The agency's $79.7 million research program of the quantum computer is called "Penetrating Hard Targets." The Washington Post says that much of the work on the program is carried on under classified contracts at a laboratory in College Park, Maryland.
With a quantum computer technology, NSA can break into all current forms of public key encryption including the ones used on many secure websites as well as the encryption used to protect state secrets.
The leaked documents provided by Snowden suggest that NSA is far behind in developing such technology; however, the extent of the agency's research still remains unknown.
"It seems improbable that the NSA could be that far ahead of the open world without anybody knowing it," said Scott Aaronson, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Although, the NSA is not closer to developing a quantum computer and may not get an immediate breakthrough, it regards itself as running neck-to-neck with other quantum computing labs sponsored by the European Union (EU) and the Swiss government.
"The E.U. and Switzerland have made significant advances over the last decade and have caught up to the U.S. in quantum computing technology," said Seth Lloyd, an MIT professor of quantum mechanical engineering.
The leaked documents also indicate that the agency carries out some of its research in large, shielded rooms known as Faraday cages. The rooms are designed in a way to prevent electromagnetic energy from coming in or out.
"Quantum computers are extremely delicate, so if you don't protect them from their environment, then the computation will be useless," said Daniel Lidar, a professor of electrical engineering and the director of the Center for Quantum Information Science and Technology at the University of Southern California.
A working quantum computer may be capable of cracking the strongest encryption tools used today, including RSA, which is regarded as one of the most complex cryptosystems. RSA scrambles communications, which makes it unreadable to anyone but the intended recipient, without requiring the use of a shared password. RSA is very commonly used in web browsers to secure financial transactions.
The development of a quantum technology may bring benefits in the science and medical fields; however, in wrong hands, the technology can also be used to spy on people, organizations, countries and more.
