New quantum computer could mean trouble for encryption

The FBI and the Justice Department might still be at an impasse with Apple, but technology could give it the break it needs in a distant future. In a paper published in the Journal Science, researchers from MIT and Austria's University of Innsbruck have revealed that they were able to not only design but also build a quantum computer that only needs five atoms to factor the number 15. But equally important is the claim that the design is completely scalable, allowing for the addition of more atoms to factor numbers of much larger magnitudes.

Unlike conventional computing that uses bits that can only be either 1 or 2, quantum computing relies on "qubits" that can hold both values at the same time, allowing them to carry out two separate calculations in parallel. At least, that's the idea on paper. Some would contest the actual performance advantages of current quantum computers, like those in Google's labs. The benefits of quantum computing, however, is tied to its scalability.

http://www.slashgear.com/new-quantum-computer-could-mean-trouble-for-encryption-07430440/