Researchers have discovered a new approach to imaging the complexity of quantum attacks on classical computers

Researchers at the Technological Innovation Institute (TII) in the United Arab Emirates have discovered a way to model the complexities of these calculations that can be scaled up to a full-sized quantum computer. The research allowed them to create more secure encryption designs

Quantum computers may be in their infancy, but there have already been concerns that they could crack some existing encryption algorithms. In response to these concerns, scientists are investigating the mechanics of how quantum encryption algorithms actually work, and their research will likely lead to more secure algorithms because of improvements in quantum computing.

חand Crimea at the Technological Innovation Institute (TII) In the United Arab Emirates they showed a new approach to simulating encryption cracking algorithms in a quantum simulator that runs on classical computers. One of the important discoveries is a way to model the complexities of these calculations that can be scaled up to a full-sized quantum computer. The research allowed them to create more secure encryption designs.

Scientists have been studying this area for a long time because it could have important implications for security, privacy, finance, and commerce. One approach has been to create a quantum attack on a full-sized cryptographic problem by focusing on a small component of the problem and then combining those pieces at the end. In an encryption algorithm attack there is an interaction of many mathematical processes and this approach will be able to handle the assessment of how the interaction between different parts will increase.

 Therefore, the researchers at TII found a way to reduce the encryption problem in such a way that maintains the correct connections between all the different parts. Emmanuel Bellini, the chief cryptographer at TII, said: "This was not possible before because quantum simulators consume a lot of electricity. The simulator we use allows us to manage enough simulated qubits to run a significant sample."

 The goal of quantum attack-resistant cryptography is to create algorithms that cannot be effectively attacked using a quantum computer. Quantum cryptography runs algorithms on quantum computers. Post-quantum cryptography explores ways to improve the algorithms that run on classical computers that are still resistant to quantum and classical attacks. This particular study focused on post-quantum cryptography.

 Various types of cryptographic research are currently being conducted that examine ways to attack symmetric and asymmetric encryption schemes. Other studies have looked at how the technique of using the Shor algorithm can crack asymmetric encryption schemes such as RSA and discrete logarithms.

In this case, the team tested how it is possible to model and attack symmetric encryption schemes using the Grover algorithm. This study showed the first realization of all components of Grover's algorithm as a complete set of components. Other researchers have mathematically investigated a full implementation but have not been able to run it or have only run it with small parts of the full algorithm. The researchers at TII reduced the size of the problem, and this allowed them to run a full implementation of the Grover algorithm to address the problem.

Quantum simulators mimic the operations of a quantum computer in a way that allows researchers to run an algorithm on a classical computer. This allows researchers to test how the components of the algorithm work together to prepare for more powerful quantum computers in the future. Current simulators can support 35-40 qubits, which is considered an improvement over a few years ago.

 In cryptography research, brute force attacks exhaustively try all possible passwords until the correct password is discovered. This is not very efficient and so cryptographers look for shortcuts that can find solutions with less effort. But the analysis of the computational requirements of a brute force attack can provide a benchmark for comparing improvements against other algorithms.

for the scientific article