IBM unveiled its qubit processor just last year , while a unit sporting 1, qubits is set to be completed by the end of This connection could help researchers work out how to best pair quantum computers together with powerful supercomputers to solve complex problems faster. It presents us with dazzling challenges when we find the result that plants grow according to the e function. A quantum computer can process data in a much faster and more efficient way, making it ideal for tasks that require high levels of computational power. But data surreptitiously gathered now could still be sensitive when more powerful quantum computers come online in a few years. Shor Proc. At the time, it was largely a theoretical exercise, because quantum computers were still dreams for physicists. In practice, more complex rules are used, but the general idea remains more or less the same. Still, because cryptography affects sensitive national interests, other countries are keeping a close eye — and some are cautious.