RSA is the encryption that underpins secure Internet messages. Without it, there would basically be no commercial Internet. So it was concerning to see a paper published saying that Chinese researchers have a quantum encryption technique that cracks RSA. Except, not so fast:
The paper from 24 researchers in China might have remained a matter for those well-versed in advanced mathematics, cryptography, and quantum computing – a fairly small set of people – but for the fact that it got noticed by cryptographer Bruce Schneier.
"This is something to take seriously," he wrote in his blog on January 3rd, 2023. "It might not be correct, but it’s not obviously wrong."
Schneier did not take a position on the paper, but the following day The Financial Times took notice in an article titled, "Chinese researchers claim to find way to break encryption using quantum computers."
Evidently they haven't.
Late that day, on January 4, Scott Aaronson, chair of computer science at The University of Texas at Austin, and director of its Quantum Information Center, offered a rebuttal with a succinct three word review of the paper: "No. Just No."
Crypto mathematics is notoriously hard to do right, and deceptively easy to screw up. It looks like this paper made an unwarranted assumption that a particular algorithm is much faster when using quantum cryptography. It's actually no faster than plain jane cryptography.
So secure Internet messages are safe, at least for now.
6 comments:
For now, THAT is the key word... sigh
There's a lot of advantage to be had to whoever can crack that encryption.
It's not a matter of if, but when. Hopefully someone is working on a replacement to RSA for when the inevitable occurs.
I have no doubt the NSA has the perfect encryption. At least for THEIR purposes!
For now, as far as we know.
The Germans THOUGHT Enigma was "Perfect Encryption."
Where there is a will, there is a way. America isn't the only owners of Super Computers.
Interesting how IMPORTANT that the cracking of Enigma was kept TOP Secret that the Allies ALLOWED many small disasters They KNEW were going to happen to occur.
As Sun Tzu said "All warfare is deception"
I wonder if they would "Lie" to us or show a "Weak Proof" that we would LIE to ourselves.
If you can crack encryption, why waste in on a tiny thing. Why not find a critical failure node like International Banking as to crash the system when you need too? Could you see what might happen if the whole Credit System, Intra Bank Transfers and Stock Market took a Bankers Holiday for a week or so?
What would the Gimmie Dats DO if they had NO EBT and so on for a week+? Food riots in all Blue Hives? Soon into all mid-sized cities and so on?
Easy to Freeze-Island your banking system if you know when it's going to happen.
Is this RSA Tokens you're speaking of? I can imagine the ballyhoo if the CCPLA has figured out how the algorithms work.
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