2025-08-08 –, Brachium
Language: English
This is a first introduction to quantum computers. We will discuss what makes quantum mechanics so special, and how it allows building fundamentally different algorithms. I’ll do a short live demo of how you can program a quantum computer yourself using the Python package Qiskit. Then, we will look at one of the most impactful applications: breaking widely used public-key cryptography like RSA, and how this will impact the cybersecurity sector.
This is a first introduction to quantum computers: no prior background needed. We will discuss how quantum mechanics, a theory of microscopic particles, contains counter-intuitive effects like superposition and entanglement. Schrödinger’s cat is an iconic example, where the poor animal is both dead and alive at the same. Interestingly, the same laws of nature make it possible to build an extended set of algorithms, with speedups beyond what we can achieve ‘classically’.
I’ll show how we can program today’s quantum computers and show a short live demonstration of the Python package Qiskit. We will learn how to write code that creates something equivalent to Schrödinger’s cat.
Then, we will look at one of the most impactful applications. Quantum computers turn out to be incredible hacking machines, making it straightforward to crack widely-used encryption schemes such as RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography. We will discuss how long it will take until we have sufficiently large devices, and what alternative cryptography we can fall back to.
Koen Groenland is a theoretical physicist with a PhD in the near-term applications of quantum computers. He works as an innovation officer at QuSoft and the University of Amsterdam, where he is responsible for growing an active 'ecosystem' around quantum technology. His key interests include practical use-cases of quantum computers and the quantum impact on cybersecurity. Koen authored the book 'Introduction to Quantum Computing for Business', which can be accessed for free at www.introtoquantum.org.