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Wuhan University Journal of Natural Sciences

Quantum Algorithm for Attacking RSA Based on Fourier Transform and Fixed-Point

Yahui Wang, Huanguo ZHANG

Published Dec 1, 2021• 4 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Shor in 1994 proposed a quantum polynomial-time algorithm for finding the order r of an element a in the multiplicative group Zn*, which can be used to factor the integer n by computing [see formula in PDF] and hence break the famous RSA cryptosystem. However, the order r must be even. This restriction can be removed. So in this paper, we propose a quantum polynomial-time fixed-point attack for directly recovering the RSA plaintext M from the ciphertext C, without explicitly factoring the modulus n. Compared to Shor’s algorithm, the order r of the fixed-point C for RSA(e, n) satisfying [see formula in PDF] does not need to be even. Moreover, the success probability of the new algorithm is at least [see formula in PDF] and higher than that of Shor’s algorithm, though the time complexity for both algorithms is about the same.

DOI
10.1051/wujns/2021266489

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Shor in 1994 proposed a quantum polynomial-time algorithm for finding the order r of an element a in the multiplicative group Zn*, which can be used to factor the integer n by computing [see formula in PDF] and hence break the famous RSA cryptosystem. However, the order r must be even. This restriction can be removed. So in this paper, we propose a quantum polynomial-time fixed-point attack for directly recovering the RSA plaintext M from the ciphertext C, without explicitly factoring the modulus n. Compared to Shor’s algorithm, the order r of the fixed-point C for RSA(e, n) satisfying [see formula in PDF] does not need to be even. Moreover, the success probability of the new algorithm is at least [see formula in PDF] and higher than that of Shor’s algorithm, though the time complexity for both algorithms is about the same.
Security analysis of public-key cryptosystems is of fundamental significance for both theoretical research and applications in cryptography. In particular, the security of widely used public-key cryptosystems merits deep research to protect against new types of attacks. It is therefore highly meaningful to research cryptanalysis in the quantum computing environment. Shor proposed a well-known factoring algorithm by finding the prime factors of a number n = pq, which is exponentially faster than the best known classical algorithm. The idea behind Shor's quantum factoring algorithm is a straightforward programming consequence of the following proposition: to factor n, it suffices to find the order r; once such an r is found, one can compute gcd(ar/2± 1, n) = p or q. For odd values of r it is assumed that the factors of n cannot be found (since ar/2is not generally an integer). That is, the order r must be even. This restriction can be removed, however, by working from another angle. Based on the quantum inverse Fourier transform and phase estimation, this paper presents a new polynomial-time quantum algorithm for breaking RSA, without explicitly factoring the modulus n. The probability of success of the new algorithm is greater than 4φ(r)/π2r, exceeding that of the existing quantum algorithm for attacking RSA based on factorization. In constrast to the existing quantum algorithm for attacking RSA, the order r of the fixed point C for RSA does not need to be even. It changed the practices that cryptanalysts try to recover the private-key, directly from recovering the plaintext M to start, a ciphertext-only attack attacking RSA is proposed.
The emergence of some quantum algorithms has brought a serious threat to modern cryptography,among which Shor’s algorithm is the most important threatening algorithm for cryptanalysis currently.Shor’s algorithm can solve the integer factorization problem (IFP) and discrete logarithm problem (DLP) in polynomial-time,which makes the current widely used RSA,ElGamal and ECC public key cryptosystem unsafe any more under the quantum computing environment.Therefore,it is necessary to research the cryptanalysis in the quantum computing environment.Solving the IFP is the core idea of Shor’s algorithm for attacking RSA,but breaking RSA does not have to be solved by solving the IFP.A quantum algorithm is designed to attack the RSA cryptosystem starting from the angle of non-factorization.Focusing on the characteristics of RSA public key cryptosystem,using the quantum Fourier transform,the RSA plaintext MMM can be got by calculating the eth{e^{{th}}}eth root modulus nnn .That is,without solving the IFP,RSA is broken.Different from the previous practices that cryptanalysts try to recover the private-key,a ciphertext-only attack algorithm for RSA,directly from recovering the plaintext MMM to start, is presented.Results show that the probability of success of the new algorithm is higher than that of Shor’s algorithm attacking RSA.At the same time,the new algorithm does not recover the RSA plaintext from the ciphertext without factoring the modulus nnn ,and avoids the restriction that the order of ciphertext CCC modules nnn is even.
The complexity of public key algorithms like RSA and variants of Elgamal is based on the involvement of exponentiation in encryption and decryption. RSA is based on integer factorization and variants of Elgamal or based on discrete logarithms and are formed as hard problems. To achieve the perceived level of security, the required key length for public key cryptosystem needs to be determined. Quantum computers are capable of conducting an exponential number of simultaneous computations because of which they can find factors in polynomial time. Shor’s algorithm is popular algorithm for factoring huge integers in polynomial time on quantum computers. This paper presents RSA algorithm followed by various possible attacks for factoring and demonstrates Shor’s algorithm for factoring and discuss results for interpretations.
In this world of massive communication networks, data security and confidentiality are of crucial importance for maintaining secured private communication and protecting information against eavesdropping attacks. Existing cryptosystems provide data security and confidentiality by the use of encryption and signature algorithms for secured communication. Classical computers use cryptographic algorithms that use the product of two large prime numbers for generating public and private keys. These classical algorithms are based on the fact that integer factorization is a non-deterministic polynomial-time (NP) problem and requires super-polynomial time making it impossible for large enough integers. Shor’s algorithm is a well-known algorithm for factoring large integers in polynomial time and takes only O(b3) time and O(b) space on b-bit number inputs. Shor’s algorithm poses a potential threat to the current security system with the ongoing advancements of Quantum computers. This paper discusses how Shor’s algorithm will be able to break integer factorization-based cryptographic algorithms, for example, Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) and Rabin Algorithms. As a proof of concept, experimental analysis of Quantum Shor’s algorithm on existing public-key cryptosystems using IBM Quantum Experience is performed for factorizing integers of moderate length (seven bits) due to limitations of thirty-two qubits in present IBM quantum computers. In a nutshell, this work will demonstrate how Shor’s algorithm poses threat to confidentiality and authentication services.
The advent of quantum computing poses a fundamental threat to classical cryptographic systems, particularly RSA encryption, which relies on the computational limit of prime factorization. This paper presents a comparative analysis of four integer factorization approaches-a selfcurated brute-force classical implementation, optimized Trial Division, Pollard's Rho algorithm, and Shor's algorithmevaluated across a dataset of increasing semiprime inputs representative of scaled-down RSA encryption keys. Through Python-based implementations and simulations, we empirically measure and plot runtime complexity for classical methods while modeling theoretical runtimes for Shor's algorithm, given hardware limitations. Our findings reveal the exponential scaling limitations of classical algorithms, and contrast them with the polynomial-time behavior of Shor's algorithm. Despite being simulated, Shor's consistently flatter runtime trendline demonstrated its theoretical superiority and the critical urgency of post-quantum cryptography. This study not only visualizes the performance divide between classical and quantum paradigms but also underscores the transformational potential of quantum computing in modern cryptanalysis.