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| title | author | date | readTime | image | description | tags | iconname | order | slug | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantum-Safe Storage: Your Files, Future-Proofed | HERO Team | 2025-06-25 | 7 min read | sphere.jpg | How ThreeFold keeps photos, documents and business records readable even when today’s passwords and data centers no longer exist. |
|
Database | 4 | quantum-safe-storage |
1. The Gap Between “Upload” and “Still There in 20 Years”
| What happens with mainstream cloud | What owners usually discover too late |
|---|---|
| A single provider keeps three copies in one jurisdiction. | One new law, outage or ransom-attack and access can vanish overnight. |
| Data is protected by RSA/AES keys. | New quantum computers can break those keys in hours. |
| Replication is fixed at 3× size. | 200 % extra space you pay for even if you don’t need it. |
2. How Quantum-Safe Storage Works in Plain Language
Think of your file as a jigsaw puzzle that is never kept in one box.
- Encryption – The file is locked with AES-256.
- Fragmentation & Equations – Instead of storing the file, the system creates 20 unique math equations whose solution is the file.
- Spread – These equations are written to 20 separate devices you can pin to Sweden only, “no US soil”, “EU only”, etc.
- Resilience – Only 16 of 20 equations are required to re-solve the puzzle, so four complete sites can disappear and the file still opens.
- Heal – Devices silently check each equation every few weeks; any error is auto-repaired from surviving pieces.
You keep using normal drag-and-drop, S3 apps or phone backups—none of this math is visible in daily life.
3. Side-by-Side Comparison
| Everyday risk | Dropbox / OneDrive / S3 block storage | Quantum-Safe Storage |
|---|---|---|
| Hard-drive dies in one data-center | You wait for human repair or restore from backup | Storage layer notices, recreates missing piece in < 1 s. |
| National firewall or court order | Whole account frozen in that country | 16 surviving fragments in other countries still serve the file. |
| Tomorrow’s quantum computer leaks universal password | All data decipherable | Attacker must retrieve and break 16 separate keys stored on different hardware, in different legal systems. |
| Storage cost overhead | Always 2–3× raw size | 20 % overhead for 5-site failure tolerance. |
4. Nothing Changes on Your Network
The technology rides the same internet you already have:
- Up- and downloads still go over IPv4, IPv6, fiber, 5G or your home Wi-Fi.
- Apps that understand the S3 API (most backup software, Nextcloud, mobile photo apps) talk to the system without extra plugins.
- Browser links keep working because a small gateway translates HTTPS requests into the low-level fragment fetches.
Only where the bytes sleep is different—scattered across independent “ThreeFold nodes” instead of a single cloud warehouse.
5. Why Geographic Sovereignty Matters
When a photographer hands wedding photos to a Swiss client or a clinic stores EU medical records, the question appears:
“Which country can legally force access to this data?”
With Quantum-Safe Storage the answer is explicit:
- “The file is mathematically split. The re-combination map never leaves my machine, eight fragments sit in Swiss homes, twelve in German households—none in the US cloud.”
That turns compliance from a promise into a verifiable fact and keeps the file reachable even if trans-Atlantic cables fail.
6. For Tech-Minded Readers
- Encoding: Forward looking code over AES-256-GCM gives 20 % redundancy, detect-and-repair bit-rot, and 50 MB/s sustained throughput.
- Metadata: filename-to-fragment mapping stored in its own ZDB (append-only, history kept).
- Proof-of-Storage: Nodes prove fragment integrity via zero-knowledge checksums every heartbeat.
- Post-Quantum Upgrade Path: Retro-fits Kyber or similar post-quantum ciphers once industrialized, without user action.