Quantum computers manage to break the most secure traditional encryption methods

Current encryption methods, including military-grade AES-256, could be in danger following the discovery of a team of researchers from Shanghai University, who managed to successfully breach SPN (Substitution-Permutation Network) encryption using a quantum computer.

As mentioned on the “Genbeta” web portal, this vulnerability poses a significant challenge to cryptographic standards used in strategic sectors such as banking and the military, where information security is critical.

Professor Wang Chao, leader of the project, explained in his report that the team used the D-Wave Advantage quantum computer to execute a combination of optimization and search problems, allowing this traditional encryption to be violated. This technique also combines methods such as Schnorr’s algorithm and Babai rounding, showing that iEven AES-256 algorithms are at risk.

Quantum computing is demonstrating its ability to solve complex problems that traditional computers cannot address. However, this innovation could also put global security in check.

According to experts, the ability of quantum computers to breach traditional cryptographic systems is rapidly approaching, posing a “real and substantial” threat to critical infrastructures that rely on these encryption systems.