YIKES! "The HAWK algorithm, a post-quantum computing (PQC) encryption tool designed to protect digital signatures from being cracked by looming cryptographically relevant quantum computers (CRQCs), has been in development for several years and had never been broken. Its seeming robustness helped it progress through years of human and computer review and validation, and in May it became one of just nine candidate algorithms to reach the third round of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) decade-long battle royale to set standards for quantum-proof security. Until, that is, researchers at AI firm Anthropic showed HAWK to its Claude Mythos Preview AI cybersecurity tool – which took just 60 hours to discover a mathematical flaw that cut HAWK’s strength in half, leading its development team to withdraw it from the NIST process. Mythos also figured out how to crack a weakened version of the ubiquitous Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) – which is widely used to secure online browsing, shopping and other types of data and transactions – over 200 times faster than previously possible." #Quantumcomputing

Information Age

Gone in 77 seconds: AI now hacking faster than humans

Quantum-safe encryption cracked.