Blockchain network chief executive warns of cybersecurity risks as Q-Day looms

The acceleration of quantum computing has put global blockchain networks under a risk more imminent than we think, according to Christopher Smith, a security researcher, co-founder and chief executive of Quantus, a blockchain network. 

In an interview with The Standard at Bitcoin Asia, he particularly pointed out that blockchains are uniquely vulnerable, as the public key material to the US$3 trillion blockchain industry is on-chain available, and users are expected to manage their own key. Once hackers crack the key, it is a direct path to money. 

With 99.98 percent of the industry on pre quantum blockchains, Smith shared that such can be addressed with post quantum solutions on the same chain; or post quantum chains such as Quantus. He added the possibility of switching to traditional finance, like buying gold, which is post quantum, meaning it is safe from attacks by quantum computers.

While people are generally aware of the problem, they aren’t correctly registering the level of risk, which is an existential issue, said Smith. 

“If the cryptography fails, there’s no reason to use the blockchain at all. It’s like a country with no property rights, where people can just take others’ bitcoins,” he warned. 

The question is, when will Q-Day, when quantum computers become powerful enough to break cryptography, happen? Recently, the hardware looks like it has been catching up. It could result in an order migration, or a panic urgency, depending on core depths of blockchain adding a post-quantum address type, Smith warned. 

It all boils down to the chief executives and managers to prioritize addressing the risks. 

Smith advised that users either buy quantum secure blockchains, or pressure the managers of the assets they have to address the risks, “because we don’t want to sleepwalk into a crisis,” he stressed. 

He emphasized the importance of upgrading blockchains well in advance, before quantum computing hardware becomes available, as sensitive data can be stolen, stored and decrypted later.

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