Security News > 2024 > February > Apple promises to protect iMessage chats from quantum computers

Apple says it's going to upgrade the cryptographic protocol used by iMessage to hopefully prevent the decryption of conversations by quantum computers, should those machines ever exist in a meaningful way.

The protocol, dubbed PQ3, is intended to safeguard users' chats in some future era of quantum computing, when these computers may be able to break classical encryption methods and render today's messaging security obsolete.

"PQ3 is the first messaging protocol to reach what we call Level 3 security - providing protocol protections that surpass those in all other widely deployed messaging apps," Apple boasted in an announcement today.

Level 1 is what WhatsApp and iMessage uses prior to PQ3. Neither of these security levels protect against quantum attacks, Apple reckons.

Apple just so happens to put its new iMessage protocol at Level 3, using post-quantum cryptography in both the initial key establishment and the ongoing rekeying of the session.

In designing PQ3, Apple opted to continue using the Elliptic Curve cryptography it employs today with iMessage but with Kyber post-quantum public keys during key establishment and rekeying.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/21/apple_postquantum_security/