AES has never been hacked, but its predecessor DES, introduced in , used 56bit keys which can now be broken within a few hours. This type of encryption adds mathematical noise that could even confuse a futuristic supercomputer. But this infographic might help. This weakness means your head will hurt grappling with the odds of guessing a unique bit Private Key which is the same as the number of atoms in the universe. Email address Subscribe By signing up, you agree to receive our marketing offers following our Privacy Policy. Castle Island Ventures founding partner Nic Carter pointed out that quantum breaks would be gradual rather than sudden. Quantum computing is way too complex to effectively explain in detail here, but the rules of soccer provides a useful analogy.