Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by js8 1932 days ago
Not only quantum computers. Every cryptographic method relies on fact that there is no easy way to decide NP problems. And we don't really know whether P!=NP (in fact, according to polls, about a quarter of researchers disagree), or, in case there actually is a polynomial algorithm, its exponent will make it untractable in practice.

So there might be DOOMSDAY in the future, where all cryptography will cease to work, because somebody just figures a way to decide NP problems quickly enough.