From Caesar to Quantum Computers: The Past, Present and Future of Cryptography

Join us for a lunchtime academic guest lecture by Dr. Renate Scheidler (Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary)

Cryptography — the science of secure communication — has played a central role in human history for more than two thousand years. Once performed via handwritten methods and, later, specialized mechanical devices, modern cryptography has transformed into a ubiquitous yet invisible infrastructure, acting as the hidden engine safeguarding everything from banking and messaging to web browsing and the Internet of Things.

Driven by a perpetual contest between code-makers and code-breakers, these techniques have evolved from the simple substitution ciphers of Julius Caesar to the sophisticated mathematical protocols that shield the modern internet. This talk traces the major milestones of that evolution. We will journey from ancient ciphers and the birth of frequency analysis, through the dramatic codebreaking triumphs at Bletchley Park during WWII, to the revolutionary discovery of public-key cryptography in the 1970s—the breakthrough that made secure e-commerce possible. Along the way, we will meet the key figures who shaped the field and discover how mathematics became the bedrock of modern information protection.

Finally, we will explore the looming threat of quantum computing, which risks compromising many of the security systems we rely on today. This challenge has sparked a global race to uncover entirely new classes of hard mathematical problems — ones designed to remain intractable even against powerful quantum algorithms — prompting the development of next-generation, post-quantum cryptographic technologies capable of protecting our digital future.

Light refreshments provided for in person attendees. If plannign to attend, please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions.