Cryptographic security in the era of quantum computing and AI: threats, implementations, and strategic responses

A survey assesses the threat that quantum computing and AI pose to existing cryptographic systems: RSA and elliptic curve cryptography face the risk of quantum cracking. AES-128's effective key length is shortened under quantum attack but it remains secure, while deep learning strengthens side-channel analysis and can extract keys from protected implementations. The authors state that the lattice-based algorithms ML-KEM and ML-DSA can resist known quantum attacks but must guard against side-channel leakage, and recommend defense in depth through post-quantum algorithms, implementation hardening, and cryptographic agility.