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Apple unveiled PQ3, the most significant cryptographic security upgrade in iMessage history, for iOS 17.4 on Feb. 21.

With the new protocol, Apple becomes one of only a handful of providers featuring post-quantum cryptography for messages. Signal launched a quantum resistant encryption upgrade back in September 2023, but Apple says its the first to reach level 3 encryption.

According to the Cupertino-based company:

Apples iMessage has featured end-to-end encryption since its inception. While it initially used RSA encryption, the company switched to Elliptic Curve cryptography (ECC) in 2019.

As of current, breaking such encryption is considered infeasible due to the amount of time and computing power required. However, the threat of quantum computing looms closer every day.

Theoretically, a quantum computer of sufficient capabilities could break todays encryption methods with relative ease. To the best of our knowledge there arent any current quantum computing systems capable of doing so, but the rapid pace of advancement has caused governments and organizations around the world to begin preparations.

The big idea is that by developing post-quantum cryptography methods ahead of time, good actors such as banks and hospitals can safeguard their data against malicious actors with access to cutting-edge technology.

Theres no current time frame for the advent of quantum computers capable of breaking standard cryptography. IBMclaims it will have hit an inflection point in quantum computing by 2029, while MIT/Harvard spinout QuEra says it will have had a 10,000-qubit error-corrected system by 2026.

Unfortunately, bad actors arent waiting until they can get their hands on a quantum computer to start their attacks. Many are harvesting encrypted data illicitly and storing it for decryption later in whats commonly known as a HNDL attack (harvest now, decrypt later).

Related: Oxford economist who predicted crypto going mainstream says quantum economics is next

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Apple is future-proofing iMessage with post-quantum cryptography - Cointelegraph