Chinese Hackers Use Quantum Computer to Break Military Grade Encryption

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It's "the first time that a real quantum computer has posed a real and substantial threat."

Locked Doors

Chinese researchers at Shanghai University say they've inched towards cracking military-grade encryption — with the help of a quantum computer.

In a Chinese-language paper published late last month in the Chinese Journal of Computers, the researchers claim they were able to use one of D-Wave's off-the-shelf quantum computers to attack Substitution-Permutation Networks (SPNs), classical cryptography algorithms employed in widely-used encryption standards. As Tom's Hardware reports, the paper delineates two distinct methodologies, both rooted in D-Wave's quantum annealing algorithm.

SPNs are used in algorithms tasked with protecting sensitive institutions including militaries and banks — meaning that, if the researcher's claims are true, their findings could force institutions to revisit their cybersecurity measures.

Experts have long warned that quantum computers, which work in a fundamentally different way than conventional ones, could soon break encryption standards that keep highly classified information from the prying eyes of hackers. The latest research suggests the tech is making strides towards such an eventuality.

According to the hackers' paper, their findings represent "the first time that a real quantum computer has posed a real and substantial threat to multiple full-scale SPN structured algorithms in use today," as quoted by The South China Morning Post.

Off the Shelf

As The Register notes, details of the hackers' techniques remain pretty murky. The quantum-aided attacks were also implemented against a much shorter encryption key than is usually used in the real world, meaning that the alleged findings are, at best, a promising though still theoretical start to cracking these algorithms out in the wild.

Even so, that the researchers' reported success didn't hinge on military- or law enforcement-protected technologies is meaningful. D-Wave, which was founded in Canada, is a private-sector company and its goods are available to retail buyers. As The Register's Laura Dobberstein writes, the "mere fact that an off-the-shelf one quantum system has been used to develop a viable angle of attack on classical encryption will advance debate about the need to revisit the way data is protected."

All in all, though the paper comes with a heavy grain of salt, its findings may warrant a pulse check on the efficacy of modern encryption standards — not to mention fuel efforts to devise the cryptography standards of the future.

More on quantum: Weird New Quantum Experiment Sounds Suspiciously Like Time Travel