Google is looking ahead: The encryption methods used today to secure Internet communications won't be unbreakable forever. Powerful quantum computers could break them very easily.
This is why Google is testing new cryptography methods that computers of the future may not be able to break.
The processing power offered by hypothetical future quantum computers could be enough to decrypt any current internet communication, Matt Braithwaite, a software engineer at Google, said in a company blog post on Thursday.
This could affect the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol used by many websites.
Quantum computers are available today, but they are still small and experimental. But the technology is moving forward and it looks like it will soon be a reality.
But regardless of when fast quantum computers are released, Google wants to be prepared for the security risks that arise with their appearance.
So the company has begun developing what it calls “post-quantum cryptography,” and you’ll be able to try it out using the Chrome Canary browser.
The experiment will only cover a small fraction of connections between the browser and Google servers, which will use the new encryption algorithm.
In its test, Google is using an encryption algorithm called “New Hope.” However, the test will only last two years, and Google hopes it can later replace the algorithm with something better.
“The post-quantum algorithm may prove to be fragile, even with today’s computers,” Braithwaite wrote. “Alternatively, if the post-quantum algorithm proves to be secure, then it could protect connections even against future quantum computers.”
Chrome Canary users will be able to see if the post-quantum algorithm is being used by checking the browser's security panel by looking for "CECPQ1" in the key exchange.
