The present study explores the groundbreaking possibilities of Shor's algorithm in cracking RSA encryption, hence enhancing the security consequences of this extensively employed cryptographic protocol. Due to Shor's algorithm's exponential speed advantage over classical algorithms, RSA encryption—a popular public key cryptosystem—is vulnerable to quantum attacks. To keep its security, RSA depends on the difficulty of factoring huge semi-primes. RSA's security presumptions are called into question by Shor's algorithm's quick factorization on a quantum computer, which has prompted research into post-quantum cryptography solutions to guarantee secure communication in the quantum age. Even with parallel computation, the speed and storage capacity of classical computing are constrained. A key idea in quantum computing is quantum parallelism, which allows quantum systems to carry out several computations at once. In contrast to classical portions. The scope of this paper is to understand the fundamentals of Quantum Computing, the current state of Shor’s algorithm implementation, and efficiency, particularly its application in compromising public key cryptosystems like RSA. The project aims to achieve how factorization is done through classical methods and further, how is this done through Shor’s algorithm and QFT techniques.
The present study explores the groundbreaking possibilities of Shor's algorithm in cracking RSA encryption, hence enhancing the security consequences of this extensively employed cryptographic protocol. Due to Shor's algorithm's exponential speed advantage over classical algorithms, RSA encryption—a popular public key cryptosystem—is vulnerable to quantum attacks. To keep its security, RSA depends on the difficulty of factoring huge semi-primes. RSA's security presumptions are called into question by Shor's algorithm's quick factorization on a quantum computer, which has prompted research into post-quantum cryptography solutions to guarantee secure communication in the quantum age. Even with parallel computation, the speed and storage capacity of classical computing are constrained. A key idea in quantum computing is quantum parallelism, which allows quantum systems to carry out several computations at once. In contrast to classical portions. The scope of this paper is to understand the fundamentals of Quantum Computing, the current state of Shor’s algorithm implementation, and efficiency, particularly its application in compromising public key cryptosystems like RSA. The project aims to achieve how factorization is done through classical methods and further, how is this done through Shor’s algorithm and QFT techniques.
The ongoing development of Quantum Computing (QC) is a breakthrough paradigm that holds the power to revolutionize the way we process information and solve complex problems today. Quantum Computation works on the fundamental principles of Superposition and Entanglement, enabling Quantum Computers to Leverage the power of Physics in Computing. QC has the potential to revolutionize fields such as Drug Development, Financial Modeling, Optimization, and Cryptography. Shor’s algorithm, a quantum algorithm used to factorize large numbers, poses significant threats to RSA, a widely used public key cryptosystem. RSA relies on the difficulty of factoring large semi-primes to keep its security. Shor's algorithm's ability to factorize quickly on a quantum computer undermines RSA's security assumptions, necessitating the exploration of post-quantum cryptographic solutions to ensure secure communication in the quantum era. The goal of this paper is to assess the present state of Shor's algorithm implementation and efficiency, specifically its application in the context of compromising public key cryptosystems like RSA.
The ongoing development of Quantum Computing (QC) is a breakthrough paradigm that holds the power to revolutionize the way we process information and solve complex problems today. Quantum Computation works on the fundamental principles of Superposition and Entanglement, enabling Quantum Computers to Leverage the power of Physics in Computing. QC has the potential to revolutionize fields such as Drug Development, Financial Modeling, Optimization, and Cryptography. Shor’s algorithm, a quantum algorithm used to factorize large numbers, poses significant threats to RSA, a widely used public key cryptosystem. RSA relies on the difficulty of factoring large semi-primes to keep its security. Shor's algorithm's ability to factorize quickly on a quantum computer undermines RSA's security assumptions, necessitating the exploration of post-quantum cryptographic solutions to ensure secure communication in the quantum era. The goal of this paper is to assess the present state of Shor's algorithm implementation and efficiency, specifically its application in the context of compromising public key cryptosystems like RSA.
The complexity of public key algorithms like RSA and variants of Elgamal is based on the involvement of exponentiation in encryption and decryption. RSA is based on integer factorization and variants of Elgamal or based on discrete logarithms and are formed as hard problems. To achieve the perceived level of security, the required key length for public key cryptosystem needs to be determined. Quantum computers are capable of conducting an exponential number of simultaneous computations because of which they can find factors in polynomial time. Shor’s algorithm is popular algorithm for factoring huge integers in polynomial time on quantum computers. This paper presents RSA algorithm followed by various possible attacks for factoring and demonstrates Shor’s algorithm for factoring and discuss results for interpretations.
This dissertation analyzes the impact of quantum computing on the security of classical cryptographic systems, with a focus on the vulnerability of the RSA algorithm. RSA cryptography is based on the difficulty of factoring large prime numbers, a task considered computationally very difficulty for classical computers. However, with quantum computing, especially through Shor’s algorithm—this barrier can be overcome. Shor’s algorithm allows factorization in polynomial time, which would completely compromise the security of RSA.The dissertation presents the theoretical foundations of both cryptography and quantum computing, explaining key concepts such as qubits, superposition, entanglement, and quantum parallelism. It details the operation of Shor’s algorithm, from identifying the period of the modular exponential function to applying the Quantum Fourier Transform (QFT) and phase estimation to obtain the prime factors of a composite number.In addition to the theoretical component, the work includes practical implementations of the algorithm in both classical and simulated quantum environments, using IBM’s Qiskit library. Finally, it discusses post-quantum cryptography as a secure alternative in light of technological advancements, highlighting methods based on lattices, codes, hash functions, and multivariate systems.The conclusion emphasizes the urgency of adopting cryptographic systems resistant to quantum computing, as ongoing advances increasingly make the breaking of RSA a realistic threat. Post-quantum cryptography is mentioned as a necessary response to the challenge posed by quantum computing.In conclusion, although current quantum computers do not yet have sufficient power to break RSA in practice, technological progress is steadily bringing that scenario closer. Therefore, it is essential to develop and adopt quantum-resistant cryptographic systems to ensure information security in the coming decades.
This paper explores a quantum-inspired technique for factoring semi-prime integers, a problem central to the security of RSA cryptography. While Shor's algorithm offers a polynomial-time solution on a quantum computer, posing a significant threat to RSA, current quantum hardware limitations hinder its practical implementation. This study simulates Shor's algorithm classically, replacing the quantum period-finding subroutine—the source of the quantum speedup—with a classical method to analyze its performance. The experiments factored semi-primes ranging from 2 to 8 digits, demonstrating that while the technique works, the execution time increases exponentially with the size of the number, escalating from seconds for small integers to an order of minutes for an 8-digit number. This highlights the inefficiency of classical period-finding compared to the quantum approach. The results validate the theoretical framework of Shor's algorithm but underscore the impracticality of classical simulations for cryptographic-scale integers. This work also explores the necessity of advancing quantum computing to realize scalable factorization while classical methods remain confined to pedagogical or small-scale applications. The study emphasizes the urgency of hybrid quantum-classical optimizations and reinforces Shor's algorithm as pivotal for future cryptographic vulnerability assessments and quantum-ready solutions.
Cryptography is crucial for protecting private information. However, the emergence of quantum computing poses a significant threat to the security of classical cryptographic systems. Traditional algorithms such as RSA can be vulnerable to quantum attacks. Shor's quantum algorithm can break RSA encryption in polynomial time. This article examines the RSA cryptosystem, the impact of quantum computing on cryptography, the challenges of quantum computing, and its applications in various fields. The article also presents an experiment comparing traditional and Shor factorization methods for semi-prime numbers. Although the experiment does not involve factoring extremely large numbers, it demonstrates the simplicity of implementing algorithms. By conducting experiments and analysing the results, computer science students can better understand the principles of quantum computing, its capabilities, and limitations, and develop practical skills.