Quantum simulator offers faster route for prime factorization
(PHYSorg.com Physics)

Factoring very large numbers into their prime `building blocks` is extremely difficult for classical computers, and this difficulty underlies the security of many cryptographic algorithms. While it`s easy to factor the number 20 as the product of the primes 2 x 2 x 5, for example, factoring larger numbers becomes exponentially more difficult when using classical factoring algorithms.