As long as you’re willing to install the public beta versions of iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS 14.4, and watchOS 10.4. Basically you can get it now
The post-quantum cryptography protocol is protected; if you just want to wait for the official version, the current initial estimate is that you will be able to enjoy the upgrade and enhancement of iMessage PQ3 through the official version of iOS 17.4 in March. Continue reading Enabled in iOS 17.4! iMessage PQ3 new quantum-level security upgrade comes with the content of the report.
▲Image source: Apple
It can be enabled in iOS 17.4! iMessage PQ3 new quantum-level security upgrade is here
With the increasing awareness of security and the continuous upgrade of technologies including end-to-end encryption, many messaging services have been bound to servers and can always maintain a very advanced encryption level.
Because of this, related hacking techniques have gradually shifted from short-term brute force cracking or technical cracking. It seems that they have begun to shift to fishing to obtain encrypted data first, and then bet on the concept of “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later”, which will have stronger quantum computer computing power and cracking algorithms in the future, to try to break through and obtain various public key technologies that currently seem to be unbreakable.
In order to cope with such risks that may be faced in the future, Apple recently announced that it will begin to introduce “anticipate your predictions” in iMessage, which means using an ultra-standard post-quantum cryptographic protocol in advance to fully increase the difficulty of security attacks that may later capture data and then crack it.
Compared with the end-to-end encryption technology used in previous messaging services such as iMessage. Apple announced that it will be introduced in the new generation of iMessage PQ3, evolving to Level 3, which means that encryption keys can be updated regularly through rekeying for further assurance.
The communication process under this mechanism not only has the strength of a post-quantum cryptographic protocol, but is also less likely to create a long window. Even if the key is unfortunately cracked immediately one day, the self-repair mechanism can be used to avoid a complete collapse as much as possible.
▲Image source: Apple
Although this technology looks very complicated in the specification sheet and official description, it seems to be a feature that will not be popularized for a long time.
But what’s interesting is that Apple’s iMessage PQ3 upgrade, which is claimed to be the most powerful large-scale messaging application security protection protocol in history. In fact, as long as you are willing to install the public beta versions of iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS 14.4 and watchOS 10.4. Basically, you can already get the protection of the post-quantum cryptographic protocol now (that’s awesome); if you just want to wait for the official version, the current initial estimate is that you can also enjoy the upgrade and enhancement of iMessage PQ3 through the official version of iOS 17.4 in March.
According to official information, although this time the post-quantum cryptographic protocol was introduced by completely redesigning iMessage, it also incorporated existing encryption algorithms (Editor’s note: It should be to ensure compatibility with previous devices?). Apple guarantees that the security level of PQ3 will be no lower than the encryption technology provided by previous iMessage.
Therefore, even though Apple may want to provide an “I just works” experience that directly enables the new encryption technology, basically there will not be much difference in usage after upgrading to iOS 17.4. But if some people feel uneasy because there is no way to confirm the relevant switch settings, at least there is a promise that it will not be worse than before. I believe everyone can take this upgrade with peace of mind, right?
Further reading:
Too “PC”? Google urgently halts Gemini’s ability to generate images of people
Source: KOCPC Chinese