// cryptography

Source: Indieblog

Google has compressed 15KB of quantum-resistant key material into 700 bytes in TLS certificates, moving quantum-safe encryption from proof-of-concept to web-scale deployment. The bottleneck was not cryptographic theory but engineering: HTTPS certificate chains must fit within network packet sizes, and earlier quantum-resistant algorithms bloated them beyond viable limits. Certificate size directly affects connection latency and browser compatibility.

Source: Financial Times

Bitcoin and other blockchain systems rely on cryptographic algorithms that quantum computers could theoretically break in years or decades, forcing migration to quantum-resistant code before that window closes. Major crypto firms are already allocating resources to implement post-quantum cryptography standards, indicating concern that the compromise timeline is shorter than the 10-20 year consensus estimates. The move exposes a structural vulnerability in the industry's foundational security model and creates a dependency on cryptographic standards developed by institutions like NIST that the crypto world has historically positioned itself against.