The global race for quantum computing has moved beyond mere academic debate and is now directly impacting the future of digital security. In a scenario where the United States and China are vying for technological leadership, experts warn that quantum computers could, within a few years, break through the layers of encryption that currently protect banks, governments, industrial systems, and the daily lives of billions of users.

The threat is not hypothetical: quantum algorithms capable of breaking security patterns have existed since the 1990s — but recent advances in hardware bring this possibility ever closer.

“We are talking about a ‘quantum apocalypse’. Everything connected to the internet would be potentially vulnerable,” points out Anderson Cruz, a researcher at the Digital Metropolis Institute (IMD) of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN).

The professor conducts research in the field of Quantum Computing and has already organized a Lecture Series on the subject at UFRN, with the participation of Professor Rafael Chaves – one of the most influential scientists in the world, according to Elsevier, one of the largest international scientific publishers.