Manzana security taken iMessage very seriously, and his latest announcement is a clear confirmation of this. Cupertino residents announced PC3a revolutionary security protocol designed to protect your messaging platform from future hacks.
The company defines PQ3 as “post-quantum cryptographic protocol” which will be responsible for protecting communications via iMessage from possible attacks using quantum computers. Advanced technology, with the help of which the participants of the block intend to get ahead of the most advanced threats that may appear in the coming years.
At first glance, this seems like a somewhat extreme measure and even an exaggeration. But it’s clear that Apple is committed to its “better safe than sorry” strategy. The PQ3 protocol will be implemented in iMessage starting from iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS 14.4 and watchOS 10.4.
Apple believes that while it is currently secure, end-to-end encryption will lose effectiveness in the future. Especially when attackers can access quantum computers to break the protocols currently used to encrypt messages.
The Californians claim that with PQ3, iMessage will become the first messaging platform to achieve Level 3 security. In fact, the company shared a graph comparing the level of protection offered by major communications apps currently. With this new technology, Apple’s service, which coexists with the Messages app, promises to be at the forefront of “quantum resistance.”
Apple Introduces PQ3, a Post-Quantum Cryptographic Protocol for iMessage
It’s worth noting that iMessage is not the first messaging platform to implement quantum computer attack protection. In September 2023 signal took the first step in this direction by updating its protocol to the PQXDH specification. Thus, the company left behind X3DH, a solution it had previously implemented.
When PQ3 is active, Apple ensures that iMessage will have even more security than Signal offers thanks to its new methodology.. The Cupertino company’s security team has published a very extensive article that explains the technical details of the design and implementation of this next-generation cryptographic protocol.
Apple admits quantum computer attacks not yet feasible on a large scale. However, the development of technology makes them think that tomorrow they could fall into the hands of criminals. Thus, they believe that if a group of hackers could gain access to these computers, they could solve the algorithms that are used in major end-to-end encryption methods today.
But there’s one more element to consider to move forward in protecting iMessage from quantum computer attacks: easy access to storage media with increasing capacity. According to researchers, hackers may start stealing encrypted information now and saving it for later, even for years. Thus, if they were to gain access to a quantum computer in the future, they would already have large amounts of information to try to hack.
“Although they cannot decrypt this data today, they can store it until they acquire a quantum computer that can decrypt it in the future. The attack script known as “collect now, decipher later”.
Manzana.
Recall that iMessage as such is especially popular in the US and has become a source of controversy due to its lack of compatibility with Android. To mitigate criticism, Apple will adopt the RCS protocol, which will give support for extended messages during SMS communications with devices of other brands. In addition, Cupertino residents recently noted that their platform will not be subject to the Digital Markets Act in Europe.
Source: Hiper Textual
I’m Ben Stock, a highly experienced and passionate journalist with a career in the news industry spanning more than 10 years. I specialize in writing content for websites, including researching and interviewing sources to produce engaging articles. My current role is as an author at Gadget Onus, where I mainly cover the mobile section.
