Securing 5G in the Advent of Quantum Computing

(InCyberDefense) There is a cluster of innovative companies offering solutions to the problem that sits at the heart of 5G, and cybersecurity in the 21st century: how to protect data and networks from a future quantum computer attack.
Such an attack would overturn virtually every asymmetric public encryption system currently protecting data in banks, corporations, and government agencies. It would crack the security that guards our power grid, air traffic control, and financial markets. Yet those are precisely the kind of networks that will increasingly rely on access to 5G.
The development of such a code-breaking machine may be from five to fifteen years off-but then so are fully implemented 5G networks. In addition, the one country that would be in a position to wield that quantum power is China, which is spending billions of dollars to develop this technology. America and the West have a special obligation to protect their 5G future against that threat—-while bearing in mind that quantum-resistant applications that protect against future quantum attack, can also protect against normal cyberattacks today.
As devices get smaller, and 5G more granular, the need for cost-efficient ways to protect devices and legacy cryptosystems linked to those devices, will accelerate.
This article was originally written by Arthur Herman from Forbes and summarized here.