{"id":24927,"date":"2025-06-25T20:28:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/quantum-computer-cracks-22-bit-rsa-encryption\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T20:28:50","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:28:50","slug":"quantum-computer-cracks-22-bit-rsa-encryption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/quantum-computer-cracks-22-bit-rsa-encryption\/","title":{"rendered":"Quantum Computer Cracks 22-bit RSA Encryption"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers at Shanghai University in China have used a quantum computer to factor a 22-bit integer in the RSA<\/span> encryption algorithm. This was reported by Earth<\/a> citing the study. <\/p>\n

\n

\u201cUsing the [device] D-Wave Advantage, we successfully factored a 22-bit RSA integer, demonstrating the potential of quantum machines for solving cryptographic problems,\u201d the authors write.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Previously, the algorithm resisted attempts to crack it on the same class of equipment. <\/p>\n

Although 22-bit keys are not secure by modern standards and can be factored on classical systems, this is currently the largest number obtained using quantum annealing<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Most modern security systems use 2048-bit encryption, and the largest key cracked by traditional methods is only 829 bits (RSA-250). It was decrypted after several weeks of computations on a supercomputer.<\/p>\n

For the factorization of the 22-bit RSA, scientists used the same method as in the successful decryption of the Present, Gift-64, and Rectangle algorithms<\/a> in October 2024. They described the breakthrough as \u201cthe first instance where a real quantum computer poses a significant threat to several full-scale structured algorithms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Methodology<\/h2>\n

The 22-bit key is trivially small compared to industrial-level RSA, but the test is significant because the approach scales beyond past research, which was limited to 19 bits and required more qubits per variable.<\/p>\n

According to the article, reducing the coefficients of local field and coupling in the Ising model<\/a> decreases noise levels, allowing annealing to more frequently achieve correct coefficients and pointing the way to larger keys.<\/p>\n

Universal gate-based quantum machines operate using Shor\u2019s algorithm<\/a>, which theoretically can \u201cbreak\u201d RSA by finding the period of modular exponentiation in polynomial time. However, such devices struggle with error correction and require a large number of qubits. <\/p>\n

To optimize the process, Chinese scientists applied annealing instead of Shor\u2019s method. Thus, they changed the type of task for the computer from finding the period of a number to finding the value itself. This strategy allows them to bypass current qubit number limitations, but it comes at the cost of exponential scaling, hence only a 22-bit modulus was achieved.<\/p>\n

The Threat is Already Here<\/strong><\/h2>\n

RSA with a large key remains secure, but the research indicates that advancements in hardware and computation optimization already pose a threat.<\/p>\n

Most enterprises, including banks and other encryption-dependent structures, have yet to update their cryptographic resources, Earth journalists write. Moreover, many are unaware of which algorithms their systems depend on.<\/p>\n

Organizations that have stored confidential data, medical records, financial files, and diplomatic cables for decades may be most affected if they wait for the emergence of a full-scale quantum computer.<\/p>\n

Although the cracking of the 22-bit RSA was based on extensive pre- and post-processing, and annealing required many runs to find the correct values, cryptographers recommend that companies and institutions begin developing plans to transition to new algorithms.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, \u201cintermediate\u201d breaches of encryption systems may already pose a significant security threat. Therefore, it is recommended to apply combined data protection methods. <\/p>\n

Back in April, Tether predicted<\/a> the hacking and return of bitcoins associated with Satoshi Nakamoto. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Researchers at Shanghai University in China have used a quantum computer to factor a 22-bit integer in the RSA encryption algorithm. This was reported by Earth citing the study. \u201cUsing the [device] D-Wave Advantage, we successfully factored a 22-bit RSA integer, demonstrating the potential of quantum machines for solving cryptographic problems,\u201d the authors write. Previously, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"","news_style_id":"","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[575,1360],"class_list":["post-24927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-quantum-computers","tag-quantum-computing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"421","promo_type":"","layout_type":"","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}