All articles tagged with #cryptography
ETH Zurich researchers built a “perfect die” by entangling two qubits across a 30-meter link and refining the output with a two-source extractor to produce randomness whose unpredictability is certified by quantum physics, with potential applications in cryptography, gaming, and secure computing, showcasing quantum advantage over classical generators.
Microsoft unveiled Majorana 2, a topological quantum chip the company says is 1,000 times more reliable than Majorana 1, with qubits lasting up to a minute. AI-driven research and manufacturing acceleration helped speed development, pushing toward scalable quantum computing by 2029. The story also notes rising crypto concerns, as advances in quantum tech threaten Bitcoin’s cryptography and Citi warns practical quantum attacks could arrive sooner than expected.
ETH Zurich researchers used a Bell-test experiment with entangled qubits separated by 30 meters and performed over a billion trials in about nine hours to demonstrate randomness amplification that transforms imperfect randomness into certifiably perfect randomness, a device-independent result that could underpin future cryptography and security systems. The work, published in Nature 2026, shows randomness that remains truly unpredictable under rigorous analysis, surpassing previous RNGs that depended on trusted hardware.
AI speeds up deciphering encrypted historical texts—like the Vatican's Borg cipher—by transcribing and decoding handwriting and symbols into digital texts, uncovering astonishing remedies and secrets once kept in archives. The Descrypt project and tools like Transkribus aim to unify transcription and decryption, enabling researchers (and the public) to unlock coded letters, diplomatic notes, and even unknown scripts, potentially rewriting parts of history and expanding access to ancient writing systems.
The United States is committing about $2 billion to back quantum‑computing firms, signaling a push to accelerate quantum development and post‑quantum cryptography as debates over Bitcoin security intensify.
Experts warn that practical quantum computers could crack widely used encryption by around 2029, shrinking the window to secure data and forcing governments and companies to accelerate the adoption of post-quantum cryptography and related defenses. The risk includes harvest-now, decrypt-later attacks, potential threats to financial systems and health devices, and the reality that cryptographic migrations can take 10–20 years even with existing standards (NIST post-quantum algorithms) and urgency from guidance aiming for 2035. While some safeguards exist, broad, timely migration remains uncertain, underscoring the need for proactive upgrades to preserve data security in the quantum era.
Advances in quantum hardware and algorithms are shrinking the resources needed to break common encryption, notably elliptic-curve cryptography; while no immediate catastrophe is expected, experts urge migration to quantum-safe cryptography, with standards bodies like NIST aiming for widespread adoption by the mid-2030s and some regions piloting early post-quantum protections today.
Advances in quantum hardware and faster quantum algorithms are lowering the resources needed to crack widely used cryptography, including elliptic-curve and blockchain-based systems. While there’s no immediate catastrophe, standards bodies (like NIST) and industry players are accelerating post-quantum migrations and deploying hybrid protections, with broad adoption expected by the 2030s as the risk of a practical quantum attack grows.
The New York Times reports that British cryptographer Adam Back is the strongest publicly identified candidate for Satoshi Nakamoto after examining emails and stylistic cues, but the case remains circumstantial and Back denies being the Bitcoin creator.
The New York Times, in a report by John Carreyrou, argues that Adam Back is Satoshi Nakamoto based on writing quirks, Hashcash links, and Cypherpunks-era posts; Back refutes the claim, saying the similarities are coincidental and that Satoshi’s anonymity may benefit Bitcoin.
ETH Zurich researchers propose cryptographic signatures generated by a camera’s sensor at capture time and stored in a public ledger to prove authenticity and detect tampering, offering a potentially more secure alternative to the current C2PA approach that signs data later in the camera’s processor; implementation would require redesigned sensors and hardware changes, with ongoing cost considerations.
Google Research warns that the quantum resources needed to break ECDLP-256 have fallen roughly 20-fold, potentially enabling on-spend attacks against Bitcoin within its 10-minute block window and prompting a 2029 migration to post-quantum cryptography; the industry, including Coinbase and the Ethereum Foundation, is coordinating on the transition, though the risk remains years away.
Google accelerated its so‑called Q Day to 2029, warning that quantum computers could break current encryption and calling for a broad move to post-quantum cryptography. The piece explains how qubits and quantum phenomena could outpace classical cryptography, notes noisy qubits as a current hurdle, and highlights Google’s leadership push while acknowledging industry questions about the timeline and motivation.
Google says rapid advances in quantum computing are shrinking the window to today’s encryption, setting a target of 2029 to migrate to post-quantum cryptography and urging the tech industry to accelerate secure upgrades amid fears of data being stored now and decrypted later.
Google moved the deadline for when quantum computers could break current cryptography to 2029, heightening the push toward post-quantum cryptography as researchers note a 2048-bit RSA key could be cracked with about one million noisy qubits—marking a potentially earlier shift in cybersecurity planning.