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Researchers warn of the vulnerability of banking and military systems.
A team of scientists in China has carried out the world's first "effective" quantum attack on a classical encryption method. The attack was carried out using a standard quantum computer from the Canadian company D-Wave Systems, writes the South China Morning Post.
Scientists have been able to successfully crack cryptographic algorithms widely used in critical sectors such as banking and the military, warning that this achievement poses a "real and significant threat."
The study was led by Wang Chao from Shanghai University. They attacked Substitution-Permutation Network (SPN) algorithms such as Present, Gift-64, and Rectangle.
SPN algorithms are at the heart of the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption standard, with AES-256 sometimes referred to as the "military standard" and considered resistant to quantum attacks.
Details of the attack technique remain unclear, and Wang declined to reveal further details in an interview with the South China Morning Post due to the "sensitivity" of the topic. However, researchers have warned that cracking the cipher is closer than ever before.
"This is the first time that a real quantum computer poses a real and significant threat to a variety of full-fledged SPN algorithms in use today", according to a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese Journal of Computers.
D-Wave Systems claims to be the world's first commercial supplier of quantum computers. Its clients include Lockheed Martin, NASA and Google.
Most of the existing universal quantum systems are not yet considered advanced enough to pose a threat to modern cryptology. It is expected that "useful" quantum machines will appear only in a few years.
Still, the potential ability of quantum computers to solve complex problems and crack most public-key algorithms is a concern. In this regard, efforts are being made to create "quantum-resistant" cryptography.
Earlier this year, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a final set of core encryption algorithms designed to protect against future cyberattacks generated by quantum computers.
Source
A team of scientists in China has carried out the world's first "effective" quantum attack on a classical encryption method. The attack was carried out using a standard quantum computer from the Canadian company D-Wave Systems, writes the South China Morning Post.
Scientists have been able to successfully crack cryptographic algorithms widely used in critical sectors such as banking and the military, warning that this achievement poses a "real and significant threat."
The study was led by Wang Chao from Shanghai University. They attacked Substitution-Permutation Network (SPN) algorithms such as Present, Gift-64, and Rectangle.
SPN algorithms are at the heart of the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption standard, with AES-256 sometimes referred to as the "military standard" and considered resistant to quantum attacks.
Details of the attack technique remain unclear, and Wang declined to reveal further details in an interview with the South China Morning Post due to the "sensitivity" of the topic. However, researchers have warned that cracking the cipher is closer than ever before.
"This is the first time that a real quantum computer poses a real and significant threat to a variety of full-fledged SPN algorithms in use today", according to a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese Journal of Computers.
D-Wave Systems claims to be the world's first commercial supplier of quantum computers. Its clients include Lockheed Martin, NASA and Google.
Most of the existing universal quantum systems are not yet considered advanced enough to pose a threat to modern cryptology. It is expected that "useful" quantum machines will appear only in a few years.
Still, the potential ability of quantum computers to solve complex problems and crack most public-key algorithms is a concern. In this regard, efforts are being made to create "quantum-resistant" cryptography.
Earlier this year, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a final set of core encryption algorithms designed to protect against future cyberattacks generated by quantum computers.
Source
