A Google research team shows that RSA encryption systems with significantly fewer quantum resources could be cracked than previously assumed.
• New Google study: RSA encryption could be cracked more easily than previously assumed
• Progress in algorithms and error correction significantly reduce quantum requirements
• Crypto security under pressure: Bitcoin & Co. could also be affected in the future
In a recent study, a research team from Google presented new findings on the potential threat of classic encryption systems by quantum computers.
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Fewer Qbits needed
The results show that cracking RSA encryption, which protect bank details and Bitcoin wallets, for example, requires significantly fewer quantum resources than previously assumed. Quantum computers are able to break RSA encryption by factorizing large numbers using the SHOR algorithm. Since Peter Shor introduced this in 1994, the estimates for the number of qubit noted have continuously decreased for its implementation.
“Yesterday we released a Print that shows that the 2048-bit RSA encryption could theoretically be broken by a quantum computer with a quantum computer with a canturized quBits that runs for a week. This is a 20-fold reduction in the number of quBITs compared to our previous estimate, which was published in 2019,” writes Google researcher Craig Gidney in a blog entry.
Most important changes
The reduction in the required physical quBITs can be traced back to two developments, as the blog entry states: progress in the algorithms and optimizations in error correction. The latter is based on the fact that so -called logical quables are distributed over a variety of physical quBITs. This redundancy makes it possible to recognize and correct occurring mistakes.
At the algorithmic level, the decisive progress lies in the fact that instead of exactly the exact modular potentiations are calculated. A corresponding procedure that uses small work registers was discovered in 2024 by Chevignard, Fouque and Schrottenloher, as Gidney writes. Although her approach initially required around 1000 times more computing operations than previous methods, it was possible to reduce this effort to about twice.
In the area of error correction, in particular, the introduction of a second error correction level, which triples the memory density of the unused logical quBITs, was achieved.
Another progress comes from Google’s quantum researchers: the magical state cultivation presented in 2024 (“Magic State Distillation”) aims to reduce the work space required for certain elementary quantum operations. According to Google researcher Gidney, these methods are not only relevant for the factorization of numbers, but would also improve the efficiency of quantum-based calculations in areas such as material research and quantum chemistry.
Danger for Bitcoin Wallets?
This development is also relevant for the crypto industry. As Dekrypt reports, the blockchain uses elliptical curve cryptography, which is considered more robust, but is based on similar mathematical principles such as RSA. According to Google, it is therefore conceivable that these protective mechanisms will also be attackable in the future. According to Decrypt, the “Project 11” research project has already shown a prize money of $ 85,000 for those who create to crack a simplified version of the Bitcoin encryption using quantum computers. “The security of Bitcoin is based on elliptical curve cryptography. Quantum computers that work with Shors algorithm will crack at some point,” quotes Decrypt Project 11. “We test how urgent the threat is.”
According to Decrypt, some blockchain projects have already reacted: Solana presented a quantum-resistant safe solution, while Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin suggested that the code of current blockchains were fell on the threat of quantum computers.
According to Decrypt, the threat from quantum computers is not yet acute, but it is getting closer. As stated in Google researcher Gidney, the first public draft of the internal nist report about the transition to post-quanta cryptography standards says […]that susceptible systems should be outdated after 2030 and should no longer be permitted after 2035. According to Gidney, Google’s research underlines how important it is to adhere to this schedule.
Editor finance.net
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