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

Prof. Isaac Ben-Israel, a key figure in Israel's cybersecurity history, warns that current encryption methods are approaching a hard deadline. In a recent interview, he explained that mature quantum computers will render today's standard password protections obsolete in a fraction of a second. Unlike conventional machines that process data in bits, quantum systems leverage states that allow for near-instantaneous calculations on a scale previously thought impossible.

The threat is not limited to data theft. Ben-Israel notes that quantum capabilities will make brute-force attacks trivial, effectively breaking the encryption that guards government, military, and financial infrastructure. While researchers are working on post-quantum algorithms, these remain slow and face a projected ten-year adoption lag. The alternative path is quantum communication, which relies on physical properties like entanglement to transmit information without a traditional signal that can be intercepted.

Building these machines is an immense challenge. They require extreme cooling and massive electricity, leading some tech leaders to look toward nuclear power to support the hardware. Ben-Israel does not expect these devices to become consumer products. Instead, they will exist as rare, centralized assets. He anticipates a ten-year window to solve the core technical obstacles, specifically the interference patterns that occur as more quantum elements are added to a system.

Beyond hardware, the discussion highlights the shift in modern warfare. Cyber operations have moved from simple data extraction to physical sabotage, as seen in operations like Stuxnet or the more recent targeting of communications equipment. AI now plays a crucial role in managing these vast datasets, allowing military intelligence to track threats or identify targets at speeds that manual analysis could never match. Israel, however, faces a challenge in maintaining its competitive edge. Despite early momentum in AI initiatives, repeated government turnover and budget delays have hampered progress. Ben-Israel remains clear that while Israel possesses the expertise, the gap between having a plan and executing that plan is widening as other nations accelerate their own development.