Companies like Google and Microsoft, as well as government agencies like the NSA have all been feverishly pursuing quantum computers for years now. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to say that breakthroughs might occur that will allow the first large-scale quantum computer to be built within a decade. So why all the interest? Why should you care? Computers get faster all the time – what’s so special about quantum computers?

In order to explain why these machines are so important, we’re going to have to take a step back and explore exactly what quantum computers are, and why they work.

Quantum Computing and its Impact on Cryptography