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Apple is upgrading its iMessage app to prevent “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks by hackers hoping to use quantum computers in the future to steal data. Photo: TNS
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Apple boosts iMessage encryption to thwart future quantum computing attacks from hackers

  • The update is designed to fend off attacks from quantum computers, which can perform calculations exponentially faster than traditional machines
  • Apple says its new system, PQ3, makes iMessage more secure than WhatsApp, Telegram, Skype, QQ, WeChat – or even Signal
Cybersecurity
Bloomberg
Bloomberg
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Apple is upgrading the security of its iMessage app, aiming to fend off a looming future threat: advanced quantum computing attacks.

The changes will be part of a new system called PQ3, Apple said on Wednesday. It is a more advanced type of encryption that could thwart attacks from quantum computers – still-nascent technology that can perform calculations exponentially faster than traditional machines.

The fear is that these computers could someday have the power and mathematical capabilities to break through today’s tools for encrypting messages.

The new security protocol has already been added to beta versions of iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS 17.4 and watchOS 10.4, which will roll out to all users in the coming weeks. It will replace the current security protocols for all iMessage chats by the end of the year.

What is quantum computing and how does it work?

Though hackers do not currently have quantum computers, they could conduct what is known as a “harvest now, decrypt later” attack. That means they steal messaging data today and then use a more advanced computer in the future to break the encryption. Apple said its new system is designed to prevent that.

The warnings about quantum computing attacks have been dire.

International Business Machines executive Ana Paula Assis has said that they will cause a “cybersecurity Armageddon”. SandboxAQ chief executive officer Jack Hidary said that such computers will be available by the end of the decade and cause a “train wreck” for security.

Governments are also getting involved, with the US Senate passing a bill two years ago to address the threat.

Apple said that PQ3 “has the strongest security properties of any at-scale messaging protocol in the world”. The company sees the defences as more powerful than those of messaging app Signal, which has long been known as the gold standard for encrypted communications.
Apple considers its new system to be at a Level 3 of security, while it puts Signal at Level 2. The prior protocol for iMessage ranked as a Level 1, in Apple’s view, the same level as Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp. Other popular messaging apps – like Telegram, Skype, QQ and WeChat – sit below that, according to Apple’s analysis of messaging app security.
The company also said its current Contact Key Verification system, which allows users to verify that they are actually communicating with the intended person, is coming to its Vision Pro headset.

The change will be included with the visionOS 1.1 software update. Users with the feature enabled on their Apple devices previously had to disable it to send messages on the Vision Pro.

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