Peter Shor's algorithm could break the internet – but he's not worried

Peter Shor's algorithm could break the internet - but he's not worried Few people have invented an algorithm with the potential to spark a worldwide crisis, so why is quantum computing pioneer Peter Shor so unconcerned? "So, he's the Beyoncé of this event?" a young woman standing behind me says to a colleague. The three of us are standing, looking at the back of a crowd, whose members are all looking at a bearded man in an orange sweater. Getting a look at him is like trying to see the - only fleeting glimpses are possible. "His algorithm is the algorithm that will break everything," the colleague says, as I briefly catch sight of people posing for selfies and getting their conference badges signed.