SMS scnews item created by Larissa Fedunik-Hofman at Tue 16 Aug 2022 1631
Type: Other
Distribution: World
Expiry: 15 Feb 2023
Auth: larissaf@10.48.22.42 (lfed9203) in SMS-SAML

Quantum encryption algorithm cracked in minutes by computer running Magma

A cryptosystem that was meant to withstand decryption by powerful quantum computers that may be developed in the future has been cracked by a single computer running a Magma program. Read the full story on the Sydney Mathematical Research Institute's news post.

Magma is a large software system for computing with abstract mathematical objects that has been developed by University of Sydney mathematicians together with mathematicians from other countries.

Quantum-resistant cryptography aims to develop encryption systems that are secure against both classical computers and quantum computers that may come into use in the future. The cryptosystem in question is SIKE (Supersingular Isogeny Key Encapsulation), whose resistance to being broken is being tested by the United States Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

New research by Wouter Castryck and Thomas Decru in Belgium produced an algorithm that can quickly solve Supersingular Isogeny Diffie-Hellman (SIDH), the hard problem that underpins SIKE. An implementation of the algorithm in Magma by Castryck and Decru was able to crack hard challenge test examples using a single computer in a matter of minutes.

Read the full news post.

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