'No matter what password you use, I will break it in a fraction of a second'

Prof. Maj.-Gen. (res.) Isaac Ben-Israel warns that quantum computing will render current encryption obsolete, breaking any password in a fraction of a second. He discusses post-quantum algorithms, quantum communication, and the timeline for practical quantum computers, estimating roughly ten years to solve key obstacles. Ben-Israel also reflects on Israel's cyber history, the Stuxnet attack, and the use of cyber and AI in the Iran war.

Prof. Maj.-Gen. (res.) Isaac Ben-Israel, a founder of Israel's modern cybersecurity apparatus, warns that quantum computing will render all current encryption obsolete. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post Podcast, he states that a mature quantum computer could break any password in a fraction of a second, undermining protections used by banks, governments, and militaries. He explains that quantum computers exploit particles occupying two states simultaneously, enabling calculations that would take conventional machines years or millennia to complete almost instantly. Ben-Israel discusses two solutions: post-quantum algorithms, which are slow and not yet ready for wide use, and quantum communication via entanglement, which allows data transfer without any signal to intercept. He estimates roughly ten years to solve the main obstacle of interference, but notes that quantum computers will remain enormous, ultracold machines, with only a few in the world. Ben-Israel also reflects on his career, including initiating the IDF's offensive cyber unit in 1992, the Stuxnet attack, and the use of cyber and AI in the Iran war. He criticizes Israel's delayed funding for a national AI initiative, which caused it to lose its head start.