Types of cryptographies

069 – To address and understand what quantum resilience is all about, we must first address the basic pillars of the subject; and that is that in the world of cryptocurrencies there are two types of cryptographies on which blockchain technology is based, symmetric key cryptography and asymmetric cryptography.

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Symmetric key cryptography is based on the simple fact that the sender and the receiver use a key to decrypt the data of the conversation or according to the use that is being given; the basis of its use can be seen through two examples:

Firstly, there are the files stored in the Google cloud, which users usually protect by using a password, so that to access it through another device, the same password must be used. Secondly, when opening a digital wallet in an exchange, a password is usually generated consisting of several numbers and characters, so that access to the wallet is restricted through the use of symmetric keys.

Asymmetric cryptography is based on using two types of keys to decrypt the information, one of which can be public and the other private; unlike symmetric cryptography, in this method both the sender and the receiver must generate their own pair of keys, i.e. each user will generate his public key and his private key.

Of course, there are pros and cons to both methods, which has prompted several specialists in the field to promote the advantages of both mechanisms and greatly reduce the associated risks, mainly focused on security and data protection.

What is quantum resistance cryptography?

This type of cryptography was born as a result of the fact that current computers usually take a reasonable time to decrypt data, due to its complexity and the mathematical algorithms developed today. This is why the “need” arises to create a system that is not only able to create and protect data (symmetric and asymmetric cryptography), but also to enhance its use.

Based on this assumption, for some years now computers have been developed based on quantum theory, which among its main goals is to create a mechanism by which the data is protected with the smallest detail, so that any attempt to hack or intercept the data can be detected almost immediately.

However, the development of this technology has brought with it controversies regarding the associated risks vs. the possible advantages that it could actually represent; since although among its pillars is to offer a greater layer of security to the data stored in a blockchain, it also faces the risk that such quantum computers can decrypt the data in seconds, unlike current computers that can even take millions of years to do so.

Quantum resistance cryptography applied to cryptocurrencies

The implementation of this technology in the cryptocurrency environment is still highly debated, but it is a very real probability to see in the next few years, since as previously mentioned the main purpose is based on increasing data security and thus avoiding scams and/or data theft.

Although the scoop stands out for being innovative and successful tests have been carried out over the last few years, there is a risk that has attracted the attention of a large part of the cryptocurrency community. And that is that quantum cryptography has the potential to far outperform asymmetric and symmetric cryptographies through the resolution of mathematical problems, in other words, quantum resistance can decrypt user keys and therefore leave data vulnerable.

However, these risks are not expected to be reached, at least not in the long term, since for a quantum computer to decrypt or break the current cryptocurrency scheme it would need a processor with a capacity of approximately 1500 qubits, but as of today the highest capacity that exists is 54 qubits, so it is still far from reaching a real risk zone.

Therefore, in the short term, no real risk or even implementation between quantum cryptography and cryptocurrencies is expected, but further development of this technology is expected in order to reduce the potential risks expected according to the evidence.

In addition, there are companies such as Crown Sterling that issued tokens called “Crown Sovereign” (CSOV) in 2022 in order to raise capital and develop the project in the best possible way, their project is mainly based on improving the existing cryptographic models by models based on quantum resistance.

Source: veriti globlal
Media : veriti globlal
Writter: Franco Rubeis