Summary
PostQuantum reviews a new preprint from AQTI that proposes the Jesse–Victor–Gharabaghi (JVG) hybrid factoring algorithm, which swaps Shor’s Quantum Fourier Transform for a Quantum Number Theoretic Transform and pushes modular exponentiation to classical processors. A press release paired with the preprint warned of a Cybersecurity Apocalypse in 2026, claiming RSA-2048 could fall in about 11 hours using fewer than 5,000 physical qubits. The article argues this claim does not withstand technical scrutiny.
According to the critique, replacing QFT with QNTT does not eliminate the core quantum cost of order finding or the need for long coherent circuits and precise phase information. Offloading parts of the workflow to classical hardware does not reduce the quantum complexity that dominates large problem instances. The resource claims appear to conflate physical and logical qubits and overlook fault tolerance, error correction overhead, realistic gate fidelities, and qubit connectivity. Small simulations and limited runs on today’s noisy devices do not provide evidence for scaling to RSA-2048.
For CISOs and cyber leaders, the takeaway is clear. There is no credible basis for a 2026 RSA-2048 collapse, yet the harvest now decrypt later risk remains real, so PQC migration should continue with urgency and discipline. Prioritize crypto inventory, data lifetime analysis, crypto agility, and adoption of standardized PQC, and track peer reviewed resource estimates rather than sensational press releases.
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See the original article at: https://postquantum.com/security-pqc/cybersecurity-apocalypse-in-2026-jvg/