Shor's algorithm is the main practical example of an algorithm that runs more quickly on a quantum computer than a classical computer — at least in theory. Shor's algorithm allows large numbers to be factored into their component prime factors quickly. In reality, existing quantum computers do not have nearly enough memory to factor interesting numbers using Shor's algorithm, despite decades of research. A new paper provides a major step in that direction, however. While still impractical on today's quantum computers, the recent discovery cuts the amount of memory needed to attack 256-bit elliptic-curve cryptography by a factor of 20. More interesting, however, is that the researchers chose to publish a zero-knowledge proof demonstrating that they know a quantum circuit that shows these improvements, rather than publishing the actual knowledge of how to do it.
Source: https://lwn.net/Articles/1066156/
Aggregated via Linux News
Source: https://lwn.net/Articles/1066156/
Aggregated via Linux News
