This afternoon I attended a report release webinar for a US National Academies committee examining the feasibility, prospects, and implications of quantum computing. This is a very complex technical area which has been subject to a considerable amount of (sometimes inaccurate) hype recently; at the same time, it is an area with considerable promise and a vast number of open questions.

The rate of progress here is an area where there have been many predictions that differ wildly. It's very useful to have a rigorously reviewed and through National Academies consensus study to put developments in perspective. And this report is not just about the details of the technology; it looks carefully at potential evolutionary paths and impacts in various sectors.

You can find an announcement about the main findings of the report, along with a link to the report proper, here

New Cryptography Must Be Developed and Deployed Now, Even Though A Quantum Computer That Could Compromise Today's Cryptography Is Likely At Least A Decade Away, Says New Report

A direct link to the report, which can be downloaded as a free PDF (about 200 pages), or you can just get the summary section.

Clifford Lynch Director, CNI