Google is testing Chrome connections that quantum computers can’t crack

Google is testing connections between the Chrome browser and its servers that use “post-quantum cryptography.” The company wants to prepare for the arrival of quantum computers, which can crack some of the encryption methods currently in use.

The experiment is enabled on Chrome Canary for some Google domains and for a limited group of connections. Users can see if the connection is ‘post-quantum’ encrypted by the text ‘CECPQ1’ at the security panel.

That connection then uses New Hope, a version of a so-called ring-learning-with-errors-based key-exchange protocol that is combined with OpenSSL to make tls resistant to hacking by quantum computers. The security is in addition to the standard key exchange based on elliptic curves.

After two years, the experiment stops and Google does not immediately aim to make New Hope a standard, also because there are many developments in this area.