The iOS 17.4 update will bring several fundamental changes to the iPhone. Apple is notably integrating a brand new encryption protocol for iMessage.
Apple iPhone 15 // Source: Chloé Pertuis – Aroged
Among the great software gems of the iPhone defended by Apple, there is iMessage, the brand's instant messaging service. If in France and Europe it battles with WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and Signal, it is very popular in the United States.
We know it in particular for its famous blue bubbles, but also for its end-to-end encryption hammered out by Apple for several years as the recipe for guaranteeing the privacy of its users. Today, with the arrival of iOS 17.4, Apple is going even further.
Countering quantum attacks
It is 01net which reports this announcement from Apple: with iOS 17.4, the firm has completely reworked the message encryption protocol on iPhone. The new version, PQ3, wants to offer defense against “quantum attacks”. Other devices in the ecosystem are also affected: Macs with macOS 14.4, Apple Watch with watchOS 10.4 and iPads with iPadOS 17.4. As a reminder, they can all access iPhone messages through iCloud synchronization. This is one of the benefits of the Apple ecosystem.
The challenge for Apple is to defend exchanges on iMessage now against future attacks by quantum computing which could develop in the years to come. Thus, even if the encrypted data were to end up in nature, a malicious person will not be able to exploit it, even in the future when quantum computing will be here.
A current issue
Apple is not the only one tackling this issue. At the end of 2023, the Signal service, also known for its protection of messages exchanged, announced that it wanted to integrate “quantum resistance” into its protocol.
iMessage is the first service to use level 3 encryption // Source: Apple
Apple, however, believes it is going a step further than Signal in its integration of protection against quantum computing attacks. Indeed, with its PQ3 update, iMessage will regularly renew the encryption keys to guarantee a long-term level of security and prevent hacking if the initial key is compromised.
In 2024, Apple Messages will continue to evolve. The firm has already announced the integration of the RCS protocol which should allow better compatibility with Android smartphones.
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