Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Geneva Security Forum opened Wednesday morning to warnings from encryption experts that today's security solutions will be completely undermined by the arrival of quantum computers. "And I am convinced there will be a quantum computer, but perhaps not in my lifetime," insisted guest panelist Victor Canivell, CEO of WiseKey, Spain. The two-day annual international forum brings together some 300 people from government, industry, academia and international organizations to focus on the increasingly complex business of security.
Canivell told the group, "There is no quantum computer today but many people around the world are working on this and who can tell if they will succeed?" A quantum computer would "make all the electronic money in the world valueless."
He was one of five panelists who talked about the future of encryption and the systems used to secure data online. Gregoire Ribordy, CEO of Geneva-based id Quantiques, agreed that "today, we are becoming more and more vulnerable." Nicolas Gisin, professor of applied physicas at the University of Geneva, added that "We have more and more solutions, but we are facing an unknown environment in the future." And, said Patrick Amon from EPFL in Lausanne, our "increasing connectivity is adding to our vulnerability."
The group raised the alarm to point to the need for industry, researchers and governments to better communicate, a sentiment expressed by other speakers. Amon told the group that "We have raw data but not enough metrics – turning the data into something useful requires cooperation. There's very little give and take between government and industry which is why the law is always behind."
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