Security News > 2022 > September > Researchers publish post-quantum upgrade to the Signal protocol
PQShield published a white paper that lays out the quantum threat to secure end-to-end messaging and explains how post-quantum cryptography can be added to the Signal secure messaging protocol to protect it from quantum attacks.
The company is offering to license its end-to-end encrypted messaging IP to the Signal Foundation pro bono - if/when they plan to upgrade their system - to support the non-profit behind the free encrypted messaging app, Signal, in its mission to make secure communication accessible to everyone.
However secure these messaging apps are today, large-scale quantum computers will soon have the processing power to break the end-to-end encryption they rely on to keep messages private.
Thomas Prest, Lead Cryptography Researcher at PQShield said: "The Signal protocol is widely regarded as the gold standard for secure instant messaging. However, the cryptographic problem underlying its security is known to be easily solvable by quantum computers, and any adversary harvesting current communications would easily be able to decrypt exchanged messages in the future. That's why we are publishing our full analysis, research and solutions for how to protect secure instant messaging from the quantum threat. The stakes are just too high not to do so."
Adding post-quantum cryptography to the Signal protocol - considered the gold standard for establishing secure messaging between two parties - would not be without technical challenges.
"Secure messaging has become almost a fundamental right for much of the global population. It's how many businesses communicate, how whistleblowers share truth with journalists, and how family and friends connect across borders. As one of the most common forms of end-to-end encryption, secure messaging is particularly vulnerable to the quantum threat," said Ali Kaafarani, CEO at PQShield.
News URL
https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/09/07/post-quantum-cryptography-signal-protocol/