Chinese researchers claim to have broken RSA

The new algorithm could render mainstream encryption powerless within years, if their claims are true.

Hey Everyone,

I’ve been trying to make heads or tails of the Chinese claim. I didn’t get very far, so let’s lay bare some of the facts. My impression is that we may have to withhold judgement on this until more data becomes available.

Researchers in China claim to have reached a breakthrough in quantum computing, figuring out how they can break the RSA public-key encryption system using a quantum computer of around the power that will soon be publicly available.

The world has in its hands a new growth and development story driven by investment and innovation in green technology, boosted by artificial intelligence (AI) and things like Quantum computing, automated military systems and the power of Quantum sensing for military and space technologies.

The Americans doubt China’s legitimacy in many of these areas. The ultimate nightmare for cybersecurity experts is someone using a quantum to factorize the large numbers that underlie our existing encryption systems, from banks and financial markets to secure access to databases around the world. But what if it actually happened?

The Russians and Chinese are already using ChatGPT for cybersecurity and malicious code. Hackers in Russia are not just keen on leveraging ChatGPT to write pieces of malicious code but have also succeeded in bypassing the geofencing meant to keep them away from the platform, Business Insider reported.

While the U.S. has several cybersecurity firms, even the Google spin-out, Sandbox AQ might not be fully prepared for what is coming. While Microsoft integrates ChatGPT and OpenAI’s core innovations into its software suite, there may be a great worry on the horizon.

Breaking 2048-bit RSA — in other words finding a method to consistently and quickly discover the secret prime numbers underpinning the algorithm — would be extremely significant. The Chinese team, led by Professor Long Guilu of Tsinghua University, proclaimed that a modest quantum computer constructed with currently available technology could run their algorithm, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Wednesday. Many in the West remain skeptical that this is even possible or that the news is legit.

I cannot independently verify it, it’s way above some of our heads. Some cryptography researchers see the claim as misleading, others see it as a potential warning sign. If it was true, would the U.S. even admit it? That China could be ahead in the cybersecurity implications around quantum computing and cryptography? There such a cybersecurity talent shortage in the West as it is, even without ChatGPT being exploited for malicious code and new phishing schemes.