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Apple battles quantum computers with new imessage protocol · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, The
• 0:08
  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
• 0:13
  and I'm your host, Will Walden. If you want uninterrupted
• 0:17
  episodes of the Elon Musk podcast, please go to
• 0:20
  clubelon.supercast.com to find out how there's a link in the
• 0:26
  show notes. So Apple has announced an
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  enhancement to imessages security with a forthcoming iOS
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  17.4 update. It introduces a new
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  cryptographic protocol named PQ 3, which is aimed at bolstering
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  encryption and providing protection against potential
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  quantum computing. Threats of the company's
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  security team heralds this development as a huge step
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  forward in the realm of end to end messaging encryption,
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  asserting that PQ3 positions iMessage as the premier
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  messaging service in terms of security, surpassing all others
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  in widespread use. The initiative is a proactive
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  measure against the theoretical risk posed by quantum computing
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  to current encryption standards and despite the non existence of
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  quantum computers capable of such decryption at present,
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  Apple is addressing the potential future scenario where
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  such technology could be used maliciously to decrypt encrypted
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  data. This anticipatory approach is
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  informed by the belief that is necessary to start implementing
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  defenses against these hypothetical feature threats
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  well ahead of their materialization.
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  Now Apple's PQ3 protocol is acclaimed as the first to
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  achieve what the company describes as Level 3 security.
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  This new standard devised by Apple indicates that imessages
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  protections exceed those of any other widely used messaging
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  application. The company's advancements with
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  PQ3 are particularly notable given the speculative nature of
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  quantum computing attacks at this stage.
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  Now the concept of Harvest now Decrypt later underscores the
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  urgency of Apple's efforts. The scenario involves attackers
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  collecting encrypted data today to decrypt it in the future.
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  With quantum computing now, the feasibility of this approach is
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  increasingly viable due to the decreasing cost of data storage.
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  Showing that the importance of forward-looking security
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  measures like PQ Three are of utmost importance.
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  Now, Apple's blog provides comprehensive details about PQ3,
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  showcasing the company's commitment to their own users
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  data. Now this move is consistent with
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  Apple's history of prioritizing privacy and security, often at
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  the expense of third party access to his platforms as
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  demonstrated by his protective stance over the iMessage
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  ecosystem. Since its inception in 2011,
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  iMessage has consistently LED in implementing end to end
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  encryption by default, and over the years Apple has continually
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  enhanced its cryptographic protocols, most notably
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  transitioning to elliptic curve cryptography in 2019 and
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  introducing features like periodic Re keying to further
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  secure encrypted keys against potential compromises.
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  The advent of quantum computing represents a fundamental
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  challenge to traditional public key cryptography methods like
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  RSA and elliptic curve cryptography, which rely on
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  mathematical problems that are currently deemed too complex for
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  classic computers to solve. The potential of quantum
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  computing to disrupt these assumptions underscores the need
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  for new cryptographic paradigms like Apple is focusing on now.
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  Apple's new focus on post quantum cryptography, or PQC, is
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  a pivotal shift towards securing communications against the
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  theoretical capabilities of future quantum computers.
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  Now PQC involves developing new algorithms that are secure
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  against quantum attacks, what can be implemented on today's
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  classical computer infrastructure.
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  Now in assessing the security of messaging apps against protocol
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  quantum threats, Apple has introduced a novel framework for
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  categorizing messaging security levels.
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  This model highlights the progression from classical
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  cryptography to quantum secure protocols, with most existing
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  messaging services lacking in quantum security measures.
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  Now the PQ3 protocol differentiates itself by
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  incorporating post quantum cryptography not only in the
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  initial key exchange but also in the ongoing message encryption
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  process. This comprehensive application
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  of PQC ensures that iMessage conversations are well protected
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  against both current threats and those anticipated in the era of
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  quantum computing. Now the design of PQ3 is a
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  complete overhaul of imessages cryptographic protocol aiming to
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  set a new standard and secure messaging.
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  It integrates post quantum cryptography from the outset of
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  conversations and introduces mechanisms to limit the impact
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  of potential key compromises. And a hybrid approach in PQ3
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  combines traditional elliptic curve algorithms with post
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  quantum algorithms, ensuring that the new protocol security
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  is never inferior to its predecessor.
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  This design also optimizes message sides to prevent
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  excessive overhead from the added security layers, and PQ3's
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  introduction of a novel post Quantum Re keying mechanism
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  addresses the challenge of key compromises enabling the
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  cryptographic security of a conversation to be swiftly
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  restored if a key is compromised.
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  This features particularly innovative in the context of
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  large scale cryptographic messaging protocols and the Re
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  keying process and PQ3 involves both traditional and post
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  quantum elements ensuring robust security against various attack
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  vectors. It's a dual approach that
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  maintains the integrity of message encryption even in the
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  face of evolving quantum threats in the future and Apple's
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  commitment to verifying the security of its cryptographic
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  protocols is very evident in the formal verification of PQ3.
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  The process involved with collaboration of leading
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  cryptography experts and extensive review ensures a high
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  degree of confidence in the protocol security.
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  So detailed analysis by cryptography professionals show
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  that PQ Three's robustness against both classic and quantum
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  adversaries and bad actors confirm its effectiveness in
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  securing message confidentiality throughout various phases of the
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  communication process. And the construction of PQ Three
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  was guided by a deep dive into cryptographic principles with a
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  particular focus on establishing and maintaining post quantum
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  security from the initial key exchange through the entire
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  conversation life cycle. Now PQ3 in iMessage is
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  proactive. It's a comprehensive approach to
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  securing communications against the potential threats posed by
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  quantum computing in the future. And PQ3's new iMessage sets a
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  new benchmark in messaging security, offering users
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  enhanced protection that anticipates and addresses the
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  challenges of tomorrow's cryptographic threats.
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  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
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  I really do appreciate your support.
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  on right now, I greatly appreciate it.
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  It helps out the show tremendously and you'll never
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  miss an episode. And each episode is about 10
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  minutes or less to get you caught up quickly.
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  to patreon.com/stage Zero and please take care of yourselves
• 7:29
  and each other. I'll see you tomorrow.