
“So now what happens is if I connect to somebody who can do Kyber, I say ‘let’s do Kyber’. “A hybrid certificate can speak both languages, so it can do RSA and it can also do Kyber,” Callan said. If one system gets fully upgraded, it presents problems if it can no longer communicate properly with an older, weaker encryption.Ĭallan said one idea that’s being discussed to address this issue is the creation of a “hybrid certificate”.
CANCEL HARVEST HOST UPGRADE
And then we’re all going to have to upgrade our products.”Īnother challenge that comes about with upgrading systems is that so many organisations are connected with each other, with servers being shared worldwide. Everybody has to go build this support into their products. “So at the same time, the industry itself has to catch up.
CANCEL HARVEST HOST SOFTWARE
“If I gave you that certificate today, it doesn’t matter because your hardware and your software can’t use it,” Callan said.
CANCEL HARVEST HOST HOW TO
In the meantime, Callan said standards organisations like the Internet Engineering Task Force are working on how to implement cryptography like Kyber in modern systems.īut while creating a new encryption certificate is one challenge, implementing the new encryption worldwide is a far more complicated task. One of the most common general encryption methods currently in use is RSA.Ĭallan said that more “backup” algorithm are being searched for by NIST because “if some genius at a whiteboard somewhere in the world right now is figuring out how to beat Crystals-Kyber, then we’re back where we started”. The main one of these is known as the Crystals-Kyber algorithm, which has been designed to become an alternative method for general encryption. “It’s just that they break the cryptography that we arrived at in the 70s, 80s and 90s, before we understood that a quantum computer was even a possibility.” A hybrid encryption futureĬurrently, the closest example we have to a quantum-resistant cryptography standard comes from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which selected four key algorithms after a call for new encryption methods. “There’s no foundational mathematical rule that says the quantum computers will have to break all cryptography,” Callan said. He told that – unsurprisingly – the trick to avoiding this scenario is to upgrade the current standards of cryptography, many of which have been in use for decades. Tim Callan is the chief experience officer at Sectigo.

This is commonly known as the quantum apocalypse, because it could have a vast impact if measures aren’t taken to prevent it. In the digital age, encryption is used to protect vast amounts of data, from basic communications to sensitive medical records.Ī major concern is that quantum computers will eventually become powerful enough to solve modern encryption quickly, essentially making all our data hackable.


But a future where machines are so powerful also presents risks for how our society functions. If certain hurdles are overcome, humanity will be able to create machines that can solve mathematical problems far faster than conventional computers, presenting enormous benefits. Sectigo’s Tim Callan explains the current steps being taken to bring in quantum-resistant encryption, the possibility of ‘hybrid certificates’ and the ongoing threat of ‘harvest and decrypt’ tactics.Īs we move forward on the path to create quantum computers, hopes and concerns have been raised about the impact these machines will have.
