<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Store now, harvest later" is a four-word slogan that frightens the hell out of Australia's cyber experts whose job is to make sure secrets remain secret.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They have good reason to be nervous - the emergence of quantum computing looms as the biggest global security challenge in decades.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Certain types of problems, which might take thousands of years on our best supercomputers today will be solvable within minutes on a quantum computer," says Dr Vikram Sharma, a quantum science researcher.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/cctv-shows-moment-man-kidnapped-off-sydney-street/63c18366-c89e-418d-9ba7-476ff7dc392f" target="_blank"><strong><span>Claim of $1 million ransom after Sydney man allegedly kidnapped on the street</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While this will be a boon to those needing vast computing power, such as those developing new vaccines or exploring space, an enemy armed with quantum computing powers will be terrifyingly dangerous.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If we have a quantum-enabled adversary and we have not prepared well, many systems which we rely on to handle information securely will be compromised. This could be catastrophic," Sharma says.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's not just what quantum computing might be able to do to future systems that worries cyber experts, but what state-sponsored hackers might be able to do with data that has already been stolen - including data that has been encrypted.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/technology/quantum-computing-cyber-experts-raise-alarm-of-risks/8b554bd2-c28b-4d98-af9e-5ae8f15052d1" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Much encrypted data has been stolen in recent years but its value is yet to be realised by the thieves.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Which is where the term "store now, harvest later" comes from.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/atmospheric-disturbance-major-bang-heard-in-skies-over-bairnsdale-victoria/9c749c2e-2c6b-4dcd-bbdf-e1cacbc32861" target="_blank"><strong><span>'Incredible' mystery sky boom rattles homes, people in regional Victoria</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Chief technology officer with the Australian Signals Directorate Karl Hanmore puts the challenge this way:</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you could imagine a thief could steal all of the safes in the world that are too hard to crack now, but they are working on an amazing safe cracking machine that will be able to instantly open all of these safes. That's your quantum computer."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sharma says the harvesting of encrypted data with the expectation it will eventually be cracked by quantum-powered decryption is a phenomenon being observed across the world.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That is a particularly scary thought, especially when one is starting to think about valuable intellectual property. You're thinking about state secrets, you're thinking about defence. This is an absolutely critical issue, which we need to start to address today," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you're doing an e-commerce transaction, and either the details of that transaction are revealed or you're unable to validate the authenticity of who the party on the other end of the line is, that will just bring those systems which are so reliant on for our everyday to complete standstill."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>ASD, the nation's cyber intelligence agency, says Australia has four years to prepare for quantum computing, with experts predicting such computing power will be at so-called "utility scale" by 2029-30.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/uk-train-stabbing-what-we-know-updates-explainer/9ac3a054-5aec-4026-b9ef-fe16d9ea4fe5" target="_blank"><strong><span>'Heroic' staffer fighting for his life after saving people in UK train stabbing</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia's banks have been tasked with making their systems able to withstand attack, by adopting a new standard of cryptography, which the ASD's Karl Hanmore explains is a sort of "special maths".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"By switching to post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, that's how we keep all of the information safe," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Andy White, the chief executive of the Australian Payments Network, which regulates the payment systems between banks and other financial institutions, says the sector has been given special authorisation by the competition watchdog ACCC to coordinate preparation for quantum computing alongside Visa, Mastercard and EFTPOS systems.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's an upgrade to about a million point of sale terminals and 25,000 ATMs, so it's a significant complex program, which is what we'll aim to do by 2030," White said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So what can we all do to prepare for quantum computing?</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Don't fret, for a start, says Hanmore. The banks will be upgrading their security regimes in coming months, so will every major network-exposed business and agency, as well as software developers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Your bank, your web browser, your phone will be updating to those new cryptographic algorithms seamlessly, and your stuff will continue to be safe," he says.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But there are some measures, everyone should take:</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If your phone offers a software update, take it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Don't share your passwords. Don't use the same password for multiple accounts. And switch to multi-factor authorisation for accounts, especially those for internet banking.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></a><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the </span></em><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></a><em><span> and </span></em><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><em><span>Google Play</span></em></a><em><span>.</span></em></div></div>