New Delhi, April 21 -- Traditional computers store information in bits. Quantum computers operate very differently. They use qubits, a whole new information architecture that leverages a quantum property called superposition, which allows them to occupy multiple states simultaneously.

Quantum machines are no faster at ordinary tasks-the laptop on your desk will probably outperform them at writing documents or running spreadsheets. What they are good at is a narrow class of mathematical problems, including some of those that underpin much of modern cryptography.

Most digital systems are secured by one of two algorithms-RSA and ECC.

The Rivest, Shamir and Adleman (RSA) algorithm operates on the assumption that it is computationally infea...