Quantum Computing and Cryptography in Cybersecurity: A Disruptive Synergy
Ali Younis Al Maqousi, Kashinath Basu, Fernando L. Pelayo, Fernando Cuartero Gómez · 2025
Quantum computing brings not just a transformation in computation but also a definitive shift in the world's cyber-security landscape. Today's public-key cryptographic algorithms, which plays a vital role in different aspects of today's connected digital world, such as online banking and secure email communication, can be broken with quantum algorithms such as Shor's algorithm for factoring and Grover's algorithm for searching. This paper focuses on the disruptive nature of quantum computing, examining the vulnerabilities of the widespread use of cryptographic methods to current known quantum attacks. It investigates the development of new quantum-resistant cryptographic methods from lattice-based, hash-based and multivariate cryptography for the protection of digital communications. It further investigates how the quantum-resistant techniques can be integrated into the traditional cybersecurity industry. For the transition period from classical to quantum-safe cryptography, it proposes a hybrid approach to deal with the quantum threat. Examples of lattice-based public-key cryptosystems and blockchain vulnerabilities are provided to demonstrate the real-life application of the proposed hybrid quantum-safe technique. Finally, this paper provides some strategic research directions and recommendations for future quantum-safe cryptography work in industry, academe and standard bodies.