Apple Rolls Out Post-Quantum Encryption Standard for iMessage

• Apple announced the launch of a major security upgrade to its iMessage app, PQ3, a post-quantum cryptographic protocol that protects against highly sophisticated quantum attacks.
• PQ3 is the first security protocol to reach Level 3 security after Apple switched from RSA to the Elliptic Curve Cryptographic standard.

Apple has announced the launch of PQ3, a new post-quantum cryptographic protocol for its iMessage app. According to Apple, the change will provide security to the messaging platform even from practical quantum computers that may come up in the future. The tech giant called the upgrade the first messaging protocol to reach Level 3 security, having the strongest security characteristics compared to any other cryptographic protocol being used at scale.

The PQ3 update has come on the heels of the switch from RSA to elliptical curve cryptography and setting up encryption keys with Secure Enclave for Apple devices. While conventional methods of encryption cryptography are based on mathematical solutions that are easy to solve unidirectionally, quantum computers can theoretically make such protections redundant. It is especially important as end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) communications are commonly used across platforms.

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The new protocol will also protect against harvest now, decrypt later (HNDL) attacks that work on decoding encrypted message data at a date later than when the data was stolen. Other attack methods utilizing quantum computers are also growing concerns among major tech manufacturers and service providers worldwide.

Google, AWS, Signal, and Cloudflare have already stated their support for quantum-resistant security measures. The U.S. Department of Commerce has also started using a post-quantum cryptographic algorithm for general encryption. The PQ3 limits how many messages can be decrypted if a single key is compromised. This is done by guaranteeing that keys are rotated at least after every 50 messages or at the end of every week. It is expected to roll out next month with the public launch of iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, macOS 14.4, and watchOS 10.4.

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