The US National Security Agency is building a quantum computer to break the encryption that keeps messages secure, reports the Washington Post.
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| The NSA wants to use its quantum computer to break encryption used to protect online communication |
The NSA project came to light in documents passed to the newspaper by whistle-blower Edward Snowden.
The spying agency hopes to harness the special qualities of quantum computers to speed up its code-cracking efforts.
The NSA is believed to have spent about $80m (£49m) on the project but it has yet to produce a working machine.
If the NSA managed to develop a working quantum computer it
would be put to work breaking encryption systems used online and by
foreign governments to keep official messages secure, suggest the
documents excerpted in the Post.
The quantum computer is being developed under a research
programme called Penetrating Hard Targets and is believed to be
conducted out of a lab in Maryland.
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