How secure is today's encryption against quantum computers?

Encryption is an excellent way of protecting sensitive data from compromise. It is commonly accepted that once information is securely encrypted, it is safe from prying eyes and sabotage both now and in the foreseeable future. However, the long-term security offered by many encryption systems (also known as cryptosystems) is under severe threat. A new type of computer -- the quantum computer -- has been theoretically proven to break most of today’s commonly used cryptosystems, and such a computer is predicted to be available within 15 years. So real is this threat that America's NIST (National Institute for Standards and… [Continue Reading]