Advanced technology could doom current cyber threats: spy chief

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OTTAWA, ON. (NEWS 1130) – The head of Canada’s cyber spy agency says the day is coming when hackers will be able to crack the encryption people rely on for secure online banking and shopping.

Greta Bossenmaier, head of the Communications Security Establishment, says advances in quantum computing could open the door to breaking these protections within 10 years. She issued the warning in an address to the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies in Ottawa.

She says the immense processing power of quantum computing will bring tremendous opportunities for science, medicine and engineering. But it could also hobble today’s encryption methods of shielding sensitive data from prying eyes.

Bossenmaier’s speech comes as the Liberal government consults Canadians on creating a new cybersecurity policy.

Meantime, there are growing concerns about identity theft after Yahoo confirmed this week that at least 500 million accounts were hacked back in 2014. It admits hackers got all the personal information they needed to steal your ID and the company is blaming a “state-sponsored actor.”

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