Quantum Computing and the Future of Privacy

Phaelyn Kotuby, 9/24/14, ENGW3302, Musselman, U1D2, IEEE, 1225 words

Privacy is one of the most important concerns of the digital age. It's paramount in allowing
governments and businesses to run smoothly and without interference from competitors; more
importantly, I feel that it's a basic human right to expect privacy in personal communications, purchase
history, and anything that generally doesn't affect the lives of others. However, nearly every week, it's
reported that yet another website has had its account databases hacked or another celebrity has had
personal files stolen. These facts are why I was initially drawn to the article The ultimate physical
limits of privacy by Artur Ekert & Renato Renner. Information leaks are not a product of the past few
decades, but computers have made them more common with the advent of the cloud and common
practice of storing important documents, such as bank statements and medical records, digitally. As a
result, it's important that computer scientists research new and more powerful cryptographic techniques
ones that can't be cracked so that digital files can be kept private once and for all.
The area of quantum computing is a growing knowledge front in computer science. The basis of
quantum computing is that, with better understanding of physics, computer scientists would be able to
build computers that take advantage of certain quantum properties to perform calculations many orders
of magnitude faster than they're able to now. While quantum computing isn't well-understood or feasible
yet, the theoretical applications of quantum computing have been discussed for decades. Topics brought
up most often involve more stable computers for airplanes and cars, lightning-fast PCs, more accurate
statistical models to be used in economics, politics, genetics, and more. The ultimate physical limits of
privacy asserts that it will also completely change the face of cryptography [1]. Basic cryptography has
been around for much longer than some would expect; in fact, one of the first techniques students learn
is named the Caesar cipher because Julius Caesar developed it to transmit secret military orders.
Building ever-more complex encryption techniques while utilizing the advantages given by quantum
computing is an obvious part of the knowledge front, but a less evident area of inquiry arises from the
same difficulty that Caesar's cipher faced: so far, nearly every form of encryption that's been developed
can be cracked given a little knowhow and a lot of time. Further, it's often debated whether thus-far
untouchable ones will meet the same fate. This issue, as well as the question of discovering a truly
unbreakable encryption technique, is one on the very edge of the knowledge front that I'd like to
research. Due to my declared concentration in cyber operations essentially network security I may
have an earlier chance at attacking this front than some, but I likely won't have the opportunity to
make any real headway until well after graduation, especially considering that I'm only two years into
my training with little practical work experience.

Quantum Computing and the Future of Privacy

Phaelyn Kotuby, 9/24/14, ENGW3302, Musselman, U1D2, IEEE, 1225 words
While it's unknown how long current encryption techniques will stay viable, Ekert & Renner claim
that even the most secure ones of our time are certain to fall with the advancement of quantum
computing [1]. So what are we to do, assuming such a day comes that a quantum computer is built?
Solving this issue is what The ultimate physical limits of privacy centers around. The paper asserts
that completely secure communication could be achieved by observation of quantum photons that
quantum optical techniques can be employed to generate pairs of polarization-entangled photons [and]
such photons respond to measurements, carried out on each of them separately, in a very coordinated
manner [1]. Basically, using techniques only made possible by quantum physics, two photons could be
linked together so they move and behave the exact same way at the exact same time regardless of
distance between them. The existence of such a pair of photons would allow two people to take one
each, separately observe them, note some correspondent physical property they're exhibiting, and use
this to encode or decode a message in a previously agreed-upon way (for example, direction of the
proton's movement). Further, Ekert & Renner claim that quantum theory dictates that an eavesdropper's
probability of correctly using stolen information to decide the outcome of one photon's behavior
becomes 1/2; that is, [the outcome] is uniformly random and independent of any information held by
[the eavesdropper] [1]. Given that such man-in-the-middle attacks have been (and continue to be) a
great threat to the integrity of an encryption, defeating them would mean taking a crucial tool out of a
code cracker's kit.
Being that the article is featured in the second half of Nature [1], it's written for a scholarly audience
who may not necessarily already be familiar with quantum physics, but likely have the appropriate
background to understand simplified versions of quantum equations and jargon. The authors support all
of their statements with concrete evidence, leaning especially on mathematical examples the article is
sprinkled with equations and tables which illustrate their points well to those whose fields involve some
higher math. The only prior knowledge required is calculus-level familiarity with the cosine function
and unit circle. Further arguments are made around pre-existing research and theorems about quantum
mechanics presented in a simplified fashion. In fact, most of the quantum-theory arguments that make
up the vast majority of the paper are built off of a 2-paragraph explanation of just about everything [the
reader needs] to know about quantum physics for now [1]. While Ekert & Renner don't give terribly
diverse evidence, I feel what they use is more than sufficient to support their claims while not alienating
those not immediately familiar with their field of inquiry. However, those without a background in
concrete mathematics might struggle to understand most of the evidence given.

Quantum Computing and the Future of Privacy

Phaelyn Kotuby, 9/24/14, ENGW3302, Musselman, U1D2, IEEE, 1225 words
A compelling piece of evidence in the paper's favor is the journal it was published in. Nature is a
weekly publication that prides itself on peer-reviewed, recent, cutting-edge articles [2]. Nature believed
that the concepts in The ultimate physical limits of privacy were exciting they even made it a cover
story [1], suggesting that the article was groundbreaking enough to capture the interest of people in
many fields apart from computer science and cryptography. Further evidence to the authors' credit are
their ties to the academic and business communities (or lack thereof, in the latter case). Their resumes
include credits from the University of Oxford, the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National
University of Singapore, and the Institute for Theoretical Physics at ETH Zurich [1], showing that
they're well-qualified to be making the claims their paper is based on. Finally, both authors declare no
competing financial interests [1], so their research is far more likely to be motivated by truly wanting to
be involved in preserving privacy than in protecting the interests of companies, even though their
findings would surely benefit such establishments.
The ultimate physical limits of privacy introduces concepts that are both incredibly exciting to me
as a computer scientist and crucial for anyone who wishes to reclaim their right to digital privacy.
Password leaks could become a thing of the past, allowing institutions to use the internet to expedite
confidential communications, kicking the speed of the business world into high gear, and freeing
individuals from the fear of losing our financial accounts, important emails, or precious Instagram
uploads. The quantum cryptography mentioned in the article is only the tip of the iceberg, though. Tying
computers into the quantum world could be one of the biggest steps we ever take, forcing us to rethink
everything we've learned up until this point; I look forward to being able to reach this knowledge front
and begin further researching the implications quantum computing would have on our world.

Quantum Computing and the Future of Privacy

Phaelyn Kotuby, 9/24/14, ENGW3302, Musselman, U1D2, IEEE, 1225 words
Acknowledgements
I'd like to thank Dr. Cecelia Musselman, Kyle Alpert, and Billy Blanco for their input on my first
draft.

Quantum Computing and the Future of Privacy

Phaelyn Kotuby, 9/24/14, ENGW3302, Musselman, U1D2, IEEE, 1225 words
Works Cited
[1] A. Ekert and R. Renner, The ultimate physical limits of privacy, Nature, vol. 507, no. 7493, 2014,
pp. 443-447.
[2] Nature, About the journal: Nature, Sept. 2014; www.nature.com/nature/about/index.html.