Answer:
The advancement of quantum computers poses several risks to national security, especially if advances in quantum decryption outpace advances in quantum encryption. An adversary with quantum decryption capabilities, for instance, could theoretically access encrypted information with ease, putting most current communications infrastructure at risk of exploitation. For diplomats, this means that communications between them and their foreign counterparts would no longer be secure. For those in the intelligence community, quantum cryptanalysis could expose the U.S.’ deepest state secrets, creating a crisis exponentially worse than the Snowden data leaks. And, quantum cryptanalysis could enable adversaries to decode valuable battlefield communications, significantly undermining military strategy.