Page 1 - GS220801

August 8, 2022 • Issue 22:08:01

Editing Paytech DNA – Part 2

Therefore, regardless of whether we can estimate the exact
time of the arrival of the quantum computing era, we must
begin now to prepare our information security systems to
be able to resist quantum computing."
Cracking PKI

Andrew Deignan, global vice president of marketing at
MagTek, agreed quantum computing threatens public
key infrastructure (PKI), which uses public and private
asymmetric keys. "PKI begins with two asymmetric keys,
where one is private and the other is public," he said. "The
public key can be easily shared with the world, almost like
a telephone directory. The private key is kept secret by
its owner; [both keys] are large prime numbers that work
together with factoring."

By Dale S. Laszig Deignan went on to say factoring large prime numbers is
difficult for today's PCs, but a quantum computer could
verything about digital commerce is evolution- rip through millions of possibilities in minutes. This
ary, down to its most fundamental binary code. technology, when available, will make data or keys that
This series delves into the frameworks and build- use PKI encryption schemes vulnerable, he said, because
E ing blocks of payment technologies that adapt it would enable hackers who know a public key to quickly
and even mutate in response to emerging opportunities determine a private key and decrypt files, and secret
and threats. Part 1 explored algorithms and cryptographic keys exchanged by the PKI method would also become
key infrastructures. Part 2 will look at how innovative secu- untrustable.
rity experts are editing these technologies to create a new
generation of post-quantum cryptography (PQC). Deignan called NIST's prediction of large-scale PKI attacks
a very real, spine-chilling threat to all the data and keys we
Quantum computers calculate at dizzying speeds, think of as protected today that could be exposed tomorrow.
raising concerns among security professionals about the "Hackers are stealing encrypted data now but they are not
impenetrability of existing algorithms and cryptographic trying to decrypt it now," he said. "They are waiting for
key infrastructures. The National Institute of Standards quantum computers to become available so they can expose
and Technology does not view quantum computing the data later. 'Steal now, decrypt later' is an immediate
attacks as a near-term threat but is nevertheless reviewing threat, especially for, but not limited to, massive amounts
proposals it requested for standardizing quantum-resistant
algorithms. NIST disclosed fourth round finalists on July 5,
2022, setting an Oct. 1, 2022 deadline for modifications to
those submissions. Contributed articles inside by:

"Some engineers [predict] that within the next twenty or Natasa Cvijanovic .................................................................................28
so years sufficiently large quantum computers will be
built to break essentially all public key schemes currently Chirag Patel ............................................................................................32
in use," NIST wrote. "Historically, it has taken almost two Elie Y. Katz ...............................................................................................34
decades to deploy our modern public key cryptography
infrastructure.
Continued on page 26