Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted
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show notes. So Apple has announced an
enhancement to imessages security with a forthcoming iOS
17.4 update. It introduces a new
cryptographic protocol named PQ 3, which is aimed at bolstering
encryption and providing protection against potential
quantum computing. Threats of the company's
security team heralds this development as a huge step
forward in the realm of end to end messaging encryption,
asserting that PQ3 positions iMessage as the premier
messaging service in terms of security, surpassing all others
in widespread use. The initiative is a proactive
measure against the theoretical risk posed by quantum computing
to current encryption standards and despite the non existence of
quantum computers capable of such decryption at present,
Apple is addressing the potential future scenario where
such technology could be used maliciously to decrypt encrypted
data. This anticipatory approach is
informed by the belief that is necessary to start implementing
defenses against these hypothetical feature threats
well ahead of their materialization.
Now Apple's PQ3 protocol is acclaimed as the first to
achieve what the company describes as Level 3 security.
This new standard devised by Apple indicates that imessages
protections exceed those of any other widely used messaging
application. The company's advancements with
PQ3 are particularly notable given the speculative nature of
quantum computing attacks at this stage.
Now the concept of Harvest now Decrypt later underscores the
urgency of Apple's efforts. The scenario involves attackers
collecting encrypted data today to decrypt it in the future.
With quantum computing now, the feasibility of this approach is
increasingly viable due to the decreasing cost of data storage.
Showing that the importance of forward-looking security
measures like PQ Three are of utmost importance.
Now, Apple's blog provides comprehensive details about PQ3,
showcasing the company's commitment to their own users
data. Now this move is consistent with
Apple's history of prioritizing privacy and security, often at
the expense of third party access to his platforms as
demonstrated by his protective stance over the iMessage
ecosystem. Since its inception in 2011,
iMessage has consistently LED in implementing end to end
encryption by default, and over the years Apple has continually
enhanced its cryptographic protocols, most notably
transitioning to elliptic curve cryptography in 2019 and
introducing features like periodic Re keying to further
secure encrypted keys against potential compromises.
The advent of quantum computing represents a fundamental
challenge to traditional public key cryptography methods like
RSA and elliptic curve cryptography, which rely on
mathematical problems that are currently deemed too complex for
classic computers to solve. The potential of quantum
computing to disrupt these assumptions underscores the need
for new cryptographic paradigms like Apple is focusing on now.
Apple's new focus on post quantum cryptography, or PQC, is
a pivotal shift towards securing communications against the
theoretical capabilities of future quantum computers.
Now PQC involves developing new algorithms that are secure
against quantum attacks, what can be implemented on today's
classical computer infrastructure.
Now in assessing the security of messaging apps against protocol
quantum threats, Apple has introduced a novel framework for
categorizing messaging security levels.
This model highlights the progression from classical
cryptography to quantum secure protocols, with most existing
messaging services lacking in quantum security measures.
Now the PQ3 protocol differentiates itself by
incorporating post quantum cryptography not only in the
initial key exchange but also in the ongoing message encryption
process. This comprehensive application
of PQC ensures that iMessage conversations are well protected
against both current threats and those anticipated in the era of
quantum computing. Now the design of PQ3 is a
complete overhaul of imessages cryptographic protocol aiming to
set a new standard and secure messaging.
It integrates post quantum cryptography from the outset of
conversations and introduces mechanisms to limit the impact
of potential key compromises. And a hybrid approach in PQ3
combines traditional elliptic curve algorithms with post
quantum algorithms, ensuring that the new protocol security
is never inferior to its predecessor.
This design also optimizes message sides to prevent
excessive overhead from the added security layers, and PQ3's
introduction of a novel post Quantum Re keying mechanism
addresses the challenge of key compromises enabling the
cryptographic security of a conversation to be swiftly
restored if a key is compromised.
This features particularly innovative in the context of
large scale cryptographic messaging protocols and the Re
keying process and PQ3 involves both traditional and post
quantum elements ensuring robust security against various attack
vectors. It's a dual approach that
maintains the integrity of message encryption even in the
face of evolving quantum threats in the future and Apple's
commitment to verifying the security of its cryptographic
protocols is very evident in the formal verification of PQ3.
The process involved with collaboration of leading
cryptography experts and extensive review ensures a high
degree of confidence in the protocol security.
So detailed analysis by cryptography professionals show
that PQ Three's robustness against both classic and quantum
adversaries and bad actors confirm its effectiveness in
securing message confidentiality throughout various phases of the
communication process. And the construction of PQ Three
was guided by a deep dive into cryptographic principles with a
particular focus on establishing and maintaining post quantum
security from the initial key exchange through the entire
conversation life cycle. Now PQ3 in iMessage is
proactive. It's a comprehensive approach to
securing communications against the potential threats posed by
quantum computing in the future. And PQ3's new iMessage sets a
new benchmark in messaging security, offering users
enhanced protection that anticipates and addresses the
challenges of tomorrow's cryptographic threats.
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