Quantum computing is no longer science fiction. With Pasqal, France also has a technological flagship in this sector. The startup co-founded by the Nobel Prize in physics Alain Aspect raised 100 million euros last month.
Having quantum nuggets is an asset for a nation. However, these skills are also a risk for the security of data protected by encryption algorithms.
A Very Real Threat to Current Crypto
The quantum computer makes it possible, in the long term, to break these algorithms. It is therefore appropriate, as does Anssi, to anticipate the migration to post-quantum cryptography. As for archiving players, we are also preparing for future quantum attacks.
The French Docaposte, whose new deputy director is none other than the former boss of Anssi, Guillaume Poupard, has just taken a position on the subject. The publisher of Arkhineo announces “the first electronic archiving solution resistant to quantum attacks.”
The subsidiary of the La Poste group integrates, to guard against this risk, “a mechanism for sealing archives and certificates of conservation capable of resisting attacks from quantum computers.”
Docaposte notes that several “functional aspects” of its archiving technology present a risk. The chaining of document fingerprints? It “can resist under certain conditions.”
Docaposte goes hybrid to resist
On the other hand, “the electronic seal used to seal the archive would be particularly vulnerable”, recognizes the publisher. To remedy this, the Arkhineo application includes a new option.
This consists of providing hybrid-type archival evidence. This concretely means that the application can provide both a classical “pre-quantum” proof and a “post-quantum” proof.
“The latter will not disturb the existing validation tools, but will guarantee the robustness of the proof when quantum computers become accessible. The demonstration of integrity, anteriority and traceability of a document, as well as its confidentiality, cannot therefore be called into question”, affirms Docaposte.
The publisher recalls that the hybrid model is the one recommended by Anssi in the first phase of transition. The French also relies on the work of the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) and “one of the three recommended signature algorithms.”