The Risks of Public Key Encryption

Your entire online security relies on a public key that literally anyone can see.

Here’s how it works: when you buy something online, the store uses your public key to lock

up your credit card info. Once it's locked, the only thing that can unlock it is

your matching private key, which is kept secret on your device. This is public key

encryption, the backbone of the internet. It allows for digital signatures and secure

messaging. But its safety relies on a math problem being too hard for current computers

to solve. The scary part? Quantum computers might one day crack it instantly.