Apple announced an upgrade to its iMessage texting platform, protecting it against future encryption-breaking threats.
The company introduced PQ3, giving it the highest level of security that has ever been applied to a messaging app.
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Apple Increases Cryptographic Security to Level 3 for iMessage
Apple considered PQ3 as a "groundbreaking post-quantum cryptographic protocol" that can heighten the security of end-to-end encrypted messaging. It is also the first messaging protocol to reach Level 3 security, surpassing any other messaging app protocol.
Most of the messaging apps run from Level 0 to Level 2 cryptography which is not quantum secure. Messaging apps like Telegram and WeChat use Level 0, while Viber and WhatsApp are at Level 1 with a default end-to-end encryption.
Within the post-quantum cryptography, Signal is the only messaging app to be at Level 2 that can protect itself from threats like the "Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" scheme. The upgrade iMessage belongs to the upper security level which is a step behind a solid protection from quantum computers.
Apple Future-Proofs iMessage Against Quantum Computer Threats
Apple explained that while messaging platforms are equipped with complex algorithms based on difficult mathematical problems, the rise of quantum computing threatens to challenge the equation.
"A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could solve these classical mathematical problems in fundamentally different ways, and therefore - in theory - do so fast enough to threaten the security of end-to-end encrypted communications," Apple stated.
The company clarified that capable quantum computers do not exist yet but extremely well-resourced attackers could potentially prepare for it.
"We believe messaging protocols should go even further and attain Level 3 security, where post-quantum cryptography is used to secure both the initial key establishment and the ongoing message exchange," Apple added.
The PQ3 support will start releasing on iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS 14.4, and watchOS 10.4.
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