Some cryptographers are looking for RSA replacements because the algorithm is just one encryption algorithm that may be vulnerable to new machines that exploit quantum effects in electronics.

The RSA algorithm has become an encryption standard for many e-commerce security applications. The patent for it was issued to MIT on Sept. 20, 1983, and licensed exclusively to RSA Security.

The method, outlined in a scientific paper published in late December, could be used to break the RSA algorithm that underpins most online encryption using a quantum machine with only 372 qubits ...

A recent research paper makes the claim that the RSA cryptographic algorithm can be broken with a quantum algorithm. Skeptics warn: don’t believe everything you read.

A quantum computer with a million qubits would be able to crack the vital RSA encryption algorithm, and while such machines don't yet exist, that estimate could still fall further ...