Insider Brief

• Chinese researchers, using a D-Wave quantum computer, claim to have executed what they are calling the first successful quantum attack on widely used encryption algorithms, posing a “real and substantial threat” to sectors like banking and the military, as reported by SCMP.
• The D-Wave Advantage, initially designed for non-cryptographic applications, was used to breach SPN-structured algorithms but has not yet cracked specific passcodes, highlighting the early-stage nature of this threat.
• Despite the advance, the researchers acknowledge limitations such as environmental interference, underdeveloped hardware and the inability to develop a single attack method for multiple encryption systems still hinder quantum computing’s full cryptographic potential.