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Conspiracy theory here... Me thinks they've already got their hands on a quantum computer and this is all just a smoke screen.

Yes yes, encryption, can't get through that...

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In case you weren't aware, quantum computers cannot break modern symmetric encryption.

dude's alleging secret future-tech developed by some modern covert bletchley park, and you're gonna refute it with a fine point about what algorithms can currently do? I don't think you two are playing tennis on the same court.

My point was that "quantum computer" sounds like a scary apocalypse scenario, but isn't. It makes key exchange awkward but by no means impossible.

We already know that GCHQ has an underground level full of conventional computers. That's a lot scarier.

I still found the exchange, informative/insightful and apropos.

Well it would reduce the security factor of AES-128 to as low as 64bits which is somewhat tractable.

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