Military-Grade Encryption Broken by Quantum Computer

Chinese researchers have said they have made significant inroads in using a current quantum computer to break encryption algorithms used in banking and defense.

A team led by Wang Chao from Shanghai University used a D-Wave Advantage quantum computer to attack encryption algorithms such as Present, Gift-64 and Rectangle.

These algorithms are part of the Substitution-Permutation Network (SPN) structure, which is integral to widely used encryption methods like AES-256, which is considered one of the strongest standards and is used in fields including banking and cryptocurrency.

It is also used in military systems to secure satellite communication, radio communication, network and email security, voice over internet protocol and secure voice communication.

The researchers published their findings in a peer-reviewed paper titled “Quantum Annealing Public Key Cryptographic Attack Algorithm Based on D-Wave Advantage,” published in the Chinese Journal of Computers.

D-Wave’s quantum computing technology uses a technique known as quantum annealing to search for solutions to a problem. This allows quantum computers to bypass the limitations that traditional computing methods face when solving highly complex encryption problems.

Wang described quantum annealing in his paper as like an AI algorithm with the ability to globally optimize solutions. His team used it alongside traditional thematic methods to devise a new computational architecture.

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He also noted that while quantum computing has potential, current systems are limited by environmental interference, hardware constraints and the inability of a single attack algorithm to target multiple cryptographic systems.

While this breakthrough does not yet mean that quantum computers can easily break encryption on a mass scale, it highlights the growing threat that quantum technology poses to current cryptographic systems.

The development emphasizes the need for widespread implementation of post-quantum cryptography, which aims to design encryption methods resilient to quantum attacks.