Security Rests on Hard Math Problems. Quantum and AI Are Both Coming for Them

Summary: Anthropic researchers used a frontier AI model to break HAWK, a third-round NIST post-quantum signature candidate, in about 60 hours by finding a hidden symmetry in its lattice that halved its effective security, and the authors withdrew the scheme within a day at a cost of roughly $100,000 in model time. In September, AI coding agents ported the classical factoring algorithm to GPUs and set RSA factoring records sixteen days apart, RSA-260 and then RSA-896, putting 1024-bit RSA within reach of any organization with a large GPU fleet.
What's compelling: No deployed standard has been broken yet, but a candidate that survived two years of expert review fell in 60 hours for $100,000 of model time, a price that falls every quarter - and 1024-bit RSA still lives in email signing, firmware and appliances. The question is no longer which algorithm to move to but how fast you can answer "what depends on this?" when the next result lands on a Tuesday morning.

Read the original at The Hacker News ↗