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Recent headlines have proclaimed that Chinese scientists have hacked "military-grade encryption" using quantum computers, sparking concern and speculation about the future of cybersecurity. The claims, largely stemming from a recent South China Morning Post article about a Chinese academic paper published in May, was picked up by many more serious publications.
However, a closer examination reveals that while Chinese researchers have made incremental advances in quantum computing, the news reports are a huge overstatement:
"Factoring a 50-bit number using a hybrid quantum-classical approach is a far cry from breaking 'military-grade encryption'," said Dr. Erik Garcell, Head of Technical Marketing at Classiq, a quantum algorithm design company.
While advancements have indeed been made, the progress represents incremental steps rather than a paradigm-shifting breakthrough that renders current cryptographic systems obsolete.
"This kind of overstatement does more harm than good," Dr. Garcell said. "Misrepresenting current capabilities as 'breaking military-grade encryption' is not just inaccurate—it's potentially damaging to the field's credibility."
Originally spotted on Schneier on Security. Dept. stolen from AC.
Previously: Chinese Researchers Claim Quantum Encryption Attack
(Score: 4, Insightful) by DadaDoofy on Thursday October 24, @10:55AM (1 child)
Why would the Chinese waste the effort to crack US military encryption? Surely they'd use the back doors in their chips.
"the U.S.’ newest Ford-class aircraft carriers depend on over 6,500 Chinese-sourced semiconductors to operate. Many other U.S. Navy ships and aircraft are similarly dependent on thousands of Chinese semiconductors to function as instruments of U.S. defense and power projection."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/erictegler/2024/01/09/americas-carriers-rely-on-chinese-chips-our-depleted-munitions-too/ [forbes.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 24, @07:50PM
There's an easy counterargument: putting in backdoors costs money. Which Chinese manufacturer puts in extra features without charging more? The ones that charge more don't get put on the BOM.