Quantum computing is no longer science fiction. With Pasqal, France is also the technological flagship in the sector. The startup, co-founded by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Alain Aspect, raised 100 million euros last month.
The presence of quantum nuggets is the property of the nation. However, these skills also pose a security risk to data protected by encryption algorithms.
A very real threat to the current cryptocurrency
A quantum computer allows these algorithms to be cracked in the long run. It is therefore appropriate, like Anssi, to foresee the transition to post-quantum cryptography. In terms of archiving players, we are also preparing for future quantum attacks.
French Docaposte, whose new deputy director is none other than former Anssi boss Guillaume Poupart, has just spoken out on the matter. Publisher Archineo announces “the first electronic archiving solution that is resistant to quantum attacks.”
The group’s subsidiary La Poste is integrating “a mechanism for sealing archives and preservation certificates that can withstand attacks by quantum computers” to protect against this risk.
Docaposte notes that several “functional aspects” of its archiving technology pose a risk. Document fingerprint chain? He “can resist under certain conditions.”
Docaposte becomes a hybrid to fight back
On the other hand, “the electronic seal used to seal the archive would be particularly vulnerable,” the publisher admits. To fix this, the Archineo app includes a new option.
This consists in providing archival evidence of a hybrid type. Concretely, this means that the application can provide both classical “pre-quantum” and “post-quantum” proof.
“The latter will not interfere with existing verification tools, but will guarantee the reliability of the proof when quantum computers become available. Thus, the demonstration of the integrity, antecedence and traceability of the document, as well as its confidentiality, cannot be called into question. , says Dokapost.
The publisher recalls that Anssi recommended a hybrid model in the first phase of the transition. The French also rely on the work of NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and “one of the three recommended signature algorithms”.