THE emergence of Shor’s algorithm in 1994 might have suggested that in due course, the two main public encryption protocols – RSA and Diffie-Hellman – can be broken by powerful quantum computers. It’s been three decades since, and here we are at the brink of reality, where quantum computers have a 50 per cent probability of breaking highly secure RSA-2048 keys by 2031.

Singapore has made strides in securing its digital infrastructure as the new partnership between Infocomm and Media Development Authority and telcos aims to revamp the existing network infrastructure to fend off mathematically sophisticated quantum attacks. The need for speed in execution and innovation in these technologies is clear – and urgent.

Between smart devices, wearables, connected cars, smart homes, and industrial Internet sensors, it is expected that the volume of connected devices will reach 30 billion globally by 2030, according to Statista. The International Data Corporation predicts a deluge of resulting data creation and replication, reaching 181 zettabytes by 2025, from 64 zettabytes in 2020. All that data will need to be secured while racing against time, where the current public encryption protocols risk being breakable in less than a decade.