The New Quantum Computer from MIT Could render Encryption Obsolete

MIT has developed a new Quantum Computer with 5 atoms. Yes you read it right, “5 Atoms”. Before venturing to the prophecy of the impending doom due to the obsolesce  of encryption, here is a link that might help you understand what a quantum computer is.
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/quantum-computer.htm

With the concept of “Qubits” which can  simultaneously be both “HIGH” and “LOW”, which greatly reduces the number of  “Clock cycles” or “Time” required for performing an operation like calculating the Prime-Factor which is the basis of all encryption. It typically takes about 12 qubits to factor the number 15, but researchers at MIT and the University of Innsbruck in Austria have found a way to pare that down to five qubits, each represented by a single atom, they said this week.
Construction:
Using laser pulses to keep the quantum system stable by holding the atoms in an ion trap, the new system promises scalability as well, as more atoms and lasers can be added to build a bigger and faster quantum computer able to factor much larger numbers. That, in turn, presents new risks for factorization-based methods such as RSA, used for protecting credit cards, state secrets and other confidential data.
The development is in many ways touted to be an answer to a challenge posed way back in 1994, when MIT professor Peter Shor came up with a quantum algorithm that calculates the prime factors of a large number with much better efficiency than a classical computer. Fifteen is the smallest number that can meaningfully demonstrate Shor’s algorithm. Without any prior knowledge of the answers, the new system returned the correct factors with a confidence better than 99 percent.
From the Researchers:
“We show that Shor’s algorithm, the most complex quantum algorithm known to date, is realizable in a way where, yes, all you have to do is go in the lab, apply more technology, and you should be able to make a bigger quantum computer,” said Isaac Chuang, professor of physics and professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT. “It might still cost an enormous amount of money to build — you won’t be building a quantum computer and putting it on your desktop anytime soon — but now it’s much more an engineering effort, and not a basic physics question,” Chuang added.
The results of the new work were published Friday in the journal Science.
This is a really interesting development. Let us await how this progresses.