Guest Post: The Next Threat to Encryption May Not Need a Quantum Computer
AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication
Researchers warn that advances in artificial intelligence could make previously theoretical attacks on public‑key cryptography practical, threatening online payment systems. OpenAI announced on 26 October 2026 that its AI disproved the Exponential Time Hypothesis, a long‑standing conjecture about the inherent difficulty of certain computational problems, suggesting new algorithms may avoid exponential growth. While the breakthrough does not instantly break encryption, it shows that mathematical methods, not only quantum computers, might weaken asymmetric schemes. Earlier in July 2026, Anthropic‑assisted researchers demonstrated a faster attack on the signature scheme HAWK, recovering a secret key in a test version after about 60 hours of AI compute. The episode underscores concerns that AI‑driven research could accelerate the discovery of vulnerabilities in both classical and post‑quantum cryptographic protocols.
💡 Why It Matters
- · If AI can routinely uncover shortcuts in hard mathematical problems, the timeline for breaking today’s encryption could shrink dramatically, forcing a rapid shift to newer, AI‑resistant schemes.