I think the encryption being broken is always a threat regardless of the source. The only thing that can be done about it is to continuously rigorously test cryptography breaking methods, test new cryptographic encryption methods, and attempt to adjust to new developments in cryptographic offense or defense no matter the origin. Luckily I think monero actually has the best defense against this. If such a technology is invented than you would have to target accounts at random to try and determine which ones would be high value enough to prioritize their decryption otherwise you might spend more time and money attempting the decryption than you would get from looting the account. The worst case would probably be that someone figures out an exploit, immediately drains a couple high profile wallets, and then the whole economic model gets thrown out the window as everyone panics to sell and it doesn't end up mattering anyways. A much easier attack to perform would be if someone FALSELY CLAIMS that this happened. Also, I do think there is a takeaway for devs here: If possible (it very well may not be, I'm not a crypto dev), we should have a drill to swap algos in a testnet to enable a pivot if this ever happens. If such a thing isn't possible, can the codebase be modified to be more modular so it could be possible?
I think the encryption being broken is always a threat regardless of the source. The only thing that can be done about it is to continuously rigorously test cryptography breaking methods, test new cryptographic encryption methods, and attempt to adjust to new developments in cryptographic offense or defense no matter the origin. Luckily I think monero actually has the best defense against this. If such a technology is invented than you would have to target accounts at random to try and determine which ones would be high value enough to prioritize their decryption otherwise you might spend more time and money attempting the decryption than you would get from looting the account. The worst case would probably be that someone figures out an exploit, immediately drains a couple high profile wallets, and then the whole economic model gets thrown out the window as everyone panics to sell and it doesn't end up mattering anyways. A much easier attack to perform would be if someone FALSELY CLAIMS that this happened. Also, I do think there is a takeaway for devs here:
If possible (it very well may not be, I'm not a crypto dev), we should have a drill to swap algos in a testnet to enable a pivot if this ever happens. If such a thing isn't possible, can the codebase be modified to be more modular so it could be possible?