On July 25, 2025, Quanta Magazine published a major theoretical advance: researchers have developed a fundamentally new approach to cryptography that leverages quantum physics to circumvent traditional “hard math” assumptions underpinning modern encryption.
The new approach introduces quantum-native trapdoor functions that remain secure even if classical problems like integer factorization or discrete logarithms suddenly become easy—meaning security could hold even if P = NP in classical computing.
Why does it matter?
- It challenges the longstanding foundation of cryptographic security based on classical computational hardness.
- This framework could sustain encryption even in a future where classical hardness collapses—but where quantum complexity classes like BQP still hold.
- It broadens the scope of quantum-resistant cryptography beyond narrow use cases to a more general-purpose mathematical foundation.
What’s next?
Key steps forward include:
- Formalizing the new quantum trapdoor functions and exploring their cryptographic primitives (e.g. signatures, key encapsulation).
- Benchmarking them against existing post-quantum standards like lattice-based schemes (e.g. Kyber, Dilithium, NTRU).
- Investigating implementation feasibility: fault‑tolerant quantum hardware, error rates, complexity trade‑offs.
- Assessing resilience even under radical shifts in classical computational complexity (e.g. emergence of efficient classical P=NP solvers).
Commentary (The Quantum Strong Perspective)
Seriously, this is like rewriting the rulebook mid-game: Cryptographers have spent decades building towers on the bedrock of NP-hard problems. Now someone just removed the ground and replaced it with quantum bedrock that holds even if classical assumptions crumble.
If this pans out, we’re talking about cryptography that doesn’t just resist quantum attacks—it survives even if today’s “hard” math turns out to be a sham. Imagine build‑in future‑proof locks that laugh at today’s and tomorrow’s crypto-cracks.
This doesn’t kill lattice crypto—but it’s a tectonic shift: from “protect against quantum” to “quantum-native security from the ground up.” Exciting, reckless, and deeply visionary—just the kind of quantum thinking we like.
🔗 Source: Quanta Magazine by Ben Brubaker, July 25, 2025
