A new report from the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says we need to speed up preparations for the time when super-powerful quantum computers can crack conventional cryptographic defenses..Today’s cyberdefenses rely heavily on the fact that it would take even the most powerful classical supercomputers almost unimaginable amounts of time to unravel the cryptographic algorithms that protect our data, computer networks, and other digital systems..Scott Totzke, the CEO of Isara, a startup that’s developing quantum-proof cryptographic solutions, says it’s getting plenty of interest from automakers worried about risks to software in connected cars and other vehicles that will spend many years on roads. Standard setting Isara’s work is part of a wider push in the cryptographic community to come up with new encryption methods that can’t be cracked by quantum computers..The academies’ report summarizes several of these methods, and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology is working to develop standards for quantum-proof cryptographic algorithms related to them.. More details