Chinese Hackers Use Quantum Computer to Break Military Grade Encryption
It's "the first time that a real quantum computer has posed a real and substantial threat."
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.
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