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China takes on U.S. in quest to be first to create a quantum computer

It would be able to break the vast majority of encryption currently used online, including that which protects email, banking and online shopping

China takes on U.S. in quest to be first to create a quantum computer

China is working on building a quantum computer to rival the one being constructed by the U.S.'s National Security Agency, in what promises to be a high-stakes race in cryptology technology over the next decade.

The Chinese government has announced that it is backing at least 90 separate projects aimed at developing the world's first fully-functional quantum computer. According to the South China Post, officials in Beijing are prepared to spend any amount of money to realise this goal.

Physicist Wang Hoahua, whose work at Zhejiang University centres around developing a quantum computer from superconducting materials told the paper that: "The value of the quantum computer to the military and government is so great, its cost has never been considered."

One avenue of quantum experimentation involves generating enormously strong magnetic fields. Beijing has already built a three-storey facility entitled the Steady High Magnetic Field Experimental Facility on Hefei Science Island, in Anhui province.

The facility is capable of generating the world's most powerful magnetic field. Just as standard computing relies on the manipulation of 'bits', quantum computing uses 'qubits'. Strong magnetic field make the qubits easier to separate and control.

Mr Hoahua also said that: "Many Chinese scientists abroad, such as myself, have been attracted by the rapid technological development in China and are returning home. We hope to help China catch up with the West. It is not impossible that we may even win the race in the future."

The owner of a quantum computer would be able to break the vast majority of encryption currently used online, including that which protects email, banking and online shopping.

Currently, those systems are protected by a variety of methods all commonly known as 'public key encryption'. Their security hinges on the difficulty of working out which two large prime numbers multiply to give an even larger number. In such a system, the resulting number is known but not the prime numbers which are used to create it.

A quantum computer would possess the power needed to perform that calculation in a reasonably short time, rendering vulnerable 99.9 per cent of private information and financial transactions on the internet.

To date, computer scientists have succeeded in cracking a 768-bit key code for one of the most popular standards of public key encryption, RSA, but that took over two years and hundreds of computers. It is estimated that it would take 1,000 times longer to break a 1,024-bit code, which is the minimum standard used by most companies online.

A quantum computer could break this code in a much shorter time.

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Files released by Edward Snowden to the Washington Post revealed that the NSA is also working on a quantum computer. The project has been given a $79.7m budget, and is part of a larger initiative called 'Penetrating Hard Targets'.

Snowden's files disclose that the NSA's efforts to master quantum computing take place inside large metal boxes - called Faraday cages - which insulate their contents from outside interference. While the best way to construct a quantum computer is still the subject of debate, one well-known principle is that it is highly unstable and vulnerable to electronic interference.

Despite reports that quantum computers exist - in particular, the ones made by D-Wave and sold to Google - most scientists agree that these are not fully capable quantum devices, and do not surpass conventional computers' performance.

Other projects to complete a quantum computer are being funded by the EU and by the Swiss government.