What are the specific risks posed by quantum computers to current encryption?

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Quantum computers could make today’s encryption far easier to break than traditional machines can.

Quantum computers are being described here as a future threat because they could crack current encryption in a fraction of the time needed by conventional computers. The concern is directed at the encryption used to protect files on devices, cloud systems and networks, including systems that rely on sender-generated keys.
The main risk is speed, not just access

The specific danger is that quantum computers may solve problems tied to encryption much faster than traditional machines. That would weaken methods that are secure today because they depend on mathematical difficulty that current computers cannot handle quickly.
Current systems are being treated as vulnerable to future attacks

The encryption in question is the kind used for storing and transmitting files across devices, cloud systems and networks. If quantum computers reach the level experts warn about, those protections could be broken in far less time than is now required.
The threat is tied to the coming quantum era

The start-up is positioning its product for what it sees as the next phase of cyber risk: quantum-enabled attacks. Its founders say their system is designed to withstand that shift, which reflects the view that quantum computers may eventually move from theory into a practical encryption threat.
The response is built around new mathematical methods

The company says its system uses Diophantine equations, long considered impossible to solve, to create a new form of encryption. It has also secured four international patents, including technology for QR codes and barcodes now being piloted in Europe.

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What are the specific risks posed by quantum computers to current encryption?

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