Security News
Google has announced the first open-source quantum resilient FIDO2 security key implementation, which uses a unique ECC/Dilithium hybrid signature schema co-created with ETH Zurich. FIDO2 is the second major version of the Fast IDentity Online authentication standard, and FIDO2 keys are used for passwordless authentication and as a multi-factor authentication element.
Google on Tuesday announced the first quantum resilient FIDO2 security key implementation as part of its OpenSK security keys initiative. "This open-source hardware optimized implementation uses a novel ECC/Dilithium hybrid signature schema that benefits from the security of ECC against standard attacks and Dilithium's resilience against quantum attacks," Elie Bursztein and Fabian Kaczmarczyck said.
The Chocolate Factory is doing so because some day, many very bright people believe, quantum computers will be able to break at least some legacy encryption schemes. Google in 2019 said it had conducted an experiment that demonstrated quantum supremacy - the idea that a quantum computer could outperform a classical one.
Google has announced plans to add support for quantum-resistant encryption algorithms in its Chrome browser, starting with version 116. "Chrome will begin supporting X25519Kyber768 for establishing symmetric secrets in TLS, starting in Chrome 116, and available behind a flag in Chrome 115," Devon O'Brien said in a post published Thursday.
I just read an article complaining that NIST is taking too long in finalizing its post-quantum-computing cryptography standards. "This process has been going on since 2016, and since that time there has been a huge increase in quantum technology and an equally large increase in quantum understanding and interest. Yet seven years later, we have only four algorithms, although last week NIST announced that a number of other candidates are under consideration, a process that is expected to take"several years.
Quantum computing is poised to revolutionize the way we secure and privatize data. It can potentially disrupt our existing encryption methods, endangering sensitive data from various sources in ways even beyond what we've experienced with AI. In this Help Net Security video, Tommaso Gagliardoni, Global Practice Lead in Quantum Security at Kudelski Security, discusses quantum-based attacks.
With quantum technologies proliferating, business leaders may be wondering whether quantum computing is appropriate and secure for their work. A business should use quantum computing if the mathematical problem that needs to be solved is too complex for conventional computing to complete in a practical amount of time.
In this Help Net Security video, Denis Mandich, CTO at Qrypt, talks about quantum computing. If we thought AI turned security and privacy on their head, quantum computing will break how we encrypt data today and risk revealing sensitive data of citizens, governments, hospitals, banks, and more.
Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act has been signed into law, emphasizing the significance of a switch to post-quantum computing. The Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act requires federal agencies to maintain an inventory of the cryptographic assets they have in use, assess their quantum vulnerabilities, perform proof-of-concept testing of post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, and then prioritize the migration of those assets.
"NIST has release a draft of Special Publication1800-38A: Migration to Post-Quantum Cryptography: Preparation for Considering the Implementation and Adoption of Quantum Safe Cryptography." It's only four pages long, and it doesn't have a lot of detail-more "Volumes" are coming, with more information-but it's well worth reading. We are going to need to migrate to quantum-resistant public-key algorithms, and the sooner we implement key agility the easier it will be to do so.