---
title: Apple Strengthens iMessage Security with Post-Quantum Encryption
description: Apple announced it is strengthening iMessage security with groundbreaking post-quantum encryption protocol, PQ3, to protect against future quantum attacks.
---

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# [Apple Strengthens iMessage Security with Post-Quantum Encryption](https://www.secureworld.io/industry-news/apple-imessage-security-post-quantum-encryption)

 Written by [Drew Todd](https://www.secureworld.io/industry-news/author/drew-todd) | Thu | Feb 22, 2024 | 1:27 PM Z

Apple announced this week that it is implementing post-quantum cryptography in its iMessage platform to protect against potential future attacks powered by quantum computers. The new encryption protocol, called PQ3, will roll out later this year.

[According to an Apple blog post](https://security.apple.com/blog/imessage-pq3/), "PQ3 is a groundbreaking post-quantum cryptographic protocol that advances the state of the art of end-to-end secure messaging." The company says PQ3 will provide the strongest known protections against quantum attacks that could emerge as quantum computing matures.

"With compromise-resilient encryption and extensive defenses against even highly sophisticated quantum attacks, PQ3 is the first messaging protocol to reach what we call Level 3 security—providing protocol protections that surpass those in all other widely deployed messaging apps," Apple stated.

PQ3 uses a technique called "hybrid post-quantum cryptography," combining new post-quantum algorithms like Kyber with traditional elliptic curve cryptography. According to Apple, "defeating PQ3 security requires defeating both the existing, classical ECC cryptography and the new post-quantum primitives."

[RELATED: [Securing Your Data in the Quantum Age: A New Cybersecurity Frontier](https://www.secureworld.io/industry-news/securing-data-quantum-age-cybersecurity)]

In addition, PQ3 implements a "rekeying mechanism" to periodically refresh encryption keys and limit the impact of any compromised keys. Apple claims this provides "cryptographic self-healing even in the extremely unlikely case that a key ever became compromised."

The PQ3 upgrade positions Apple at the forefront of preparing for the post-quantum era. As quantum computing continues to advance, most security experts believe current encryption standards will eventually be rendered insecure by quantum algorithms.

By deploying post-quantum cryptography now, Apple aims to future-proof iMessage against potential attacks on stored encrypted data once quantum computers become powerful enough to break today's public key cryptography. PQ3 sends a clear message that Apple is committed to providing state-of-the-art security to ensure its users' privacy.

Follow *SecureWorld News* for more stories related to cybersecurity.

[View full post](https://www.secureworld.io/industry-news/apple-imessage-security-post-quantum-encryption)

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