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Cyber Risks · Cisco Talos

On the Radar: Is 2022 the year encryption is doomed?

Summary: Cisco Talos reports that quantum computers under development by global superpowers would render current public-key encryption obsolete, since Shor's algorithm can rapidly find the prime factors those algorithms depend on, though no existing system is yet powerful enough to do so. The article recommends organizations inventory their encryption algorithms and key lengths, raise public-key keys to at least 3,072 bits as an interim measure, and move to AES-256 with SHA-384 or SHA-512 hashing.

What you should know: Talos notes that whoever builds a working quantum computer first will likely keep it secret, as the WWII Enigma-breaking computers were for decades, and that attackers would then collect encrypted data in transit and at rest for later decryption. The article also warns that current advice on quantum-resistant algorithms may be wrong, possibly deliberately, citing the Dual_EC_DRBG flaw, so recommendations should be cross-checked against more than one standards body.

Read the original at Cisco Talos ↗

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Malware
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