Breaking today to build a better tomorrow.
The Breaking RSA Challenge launches today on Enigma (Subnet 63), hosted by qBitTensor Labs. We're proud to support it as technical reviewers, because understanding quantum progress with precision is how the industry prepares responsibly.
The state of the cryptanalysis landscape
RSA encryption is everywhere. It protects bank accounts, messages, passwords, and websites. It secures government communications, corporate networks, and healthcare records.
RSA works because it's built on a mathematical problem that classical computers can't solve efficiently: prime factorization. Quantum computers can. With quantum computing advancing, RSA's vulnerability is no longer a distant theoretical concern. The question isn't if cryptanalysis of RSA will become possible. It's when, at what scale, and what that means for organizations protecting sensitive data. Most organizations have not yet factored this into their security roadmaps.
The industry's information gap
Here's what we observe across the quantum security landscape: quantum computing progress is scattered across private labs, vendor roadmaps, classified research, and academic papers. There's no single, public signal of what's actually possible right now.
This creates information asymmetry. Enterprises either panic because they lack clarity, or they ignore the threat because it feels too distant. Neither serves them well. What the industry needs is multiple, credible data sources.
Understanding risk requires multiple data sources
We believe organizations should track multiple types of data sources to understand quantum progress:
- Expert surveys like the Global Risk Institute's annual assessments show where the research community thinks things are heading.
- Public competitions like this one show what's actually possible right now with demonstrated capability.
- Vendor roadmaps show where quantum hardware companies are investing.
- Academic publications show algorithmic breakthroughs as they happen.
Each has strengths and limitations, but if you pay attention to several of them together, you end up with a rounded, evidence-based view, which is the only sound way to handle uncertainty. The Breaking RSA Challenge strengthens one of those inputs: a public, reproducible signal of what current techniques can actually achieve. Understanding your exposure against that fuller picture is the essential first step.
Public benchmarks as validation
Cryptanalysis capability is measurable, not speculative. When someone solves a milestone in a public challenge, the entire world knows exactly what's possible with current hardware and algorithms. Not as a vendor claim, but as demonstrated, reproducible results. This is especially relevant as algorithmic progress in quantum computing is unpredictably jumpy, just like it was in classical computing. You can see incremental improvements for years, then suddenly a breakthrough that changes everything.
The Breaking RSA Challenge gives the industry visibility into those breakthroughs in real time.
How the challenge works
Participants compete to reach milestones by breaking RSA keys of increasing bit-size. The challenge will progress through three phases, each testing a different approach to RSA factorization:
- Phase 1 (Classical): GPU-bound RSA factorization
- Phase 2 (Quantum Hardware): Test real quantum processors
- Phase 3 (Quantum Simulation): Optimize Shor's algorithm
Each solved milestone unlocks the next harder challenge and publishes the winning code openly. The entire community learns from each breakthrough. And you win $10K+ per solved milestone.
Milestone progress is tracked publicly here: https://www.qbittensorlabs.com/enigma/challenges/breaking-rsa#milestones
Why this aligns with our mission
Working at the intersection of quantum computing advancement and post-quantum security preparation, we see both sides of this challenge. Quantum computing will solve real problems, enabling breakthroughs in science, optimization, and drug discovery. On the other hand, quantum computing will also be capable of breaking current encryption. The same progress that enables quantum advantage may compromise RSA, ECC, and other widely-used cryptographic systems.
Our aim is helping enterprises understand that progress clearly, through evidence, rather than speculation. This is why we’re excited to partner with qBitTensor Labs on the Breaking RSA Challenge, with our security team reviewing submissions. We're committed to ensuring technical integrity and helping the community understand what the results mean for the state of cryptanalytic capability.
Bob, Omar and Ryan from qBitTensor Labs discussed the challenge and our collaboration on a recent episode of qBitTensor Labs Live.
For researchers and coders
If you work in quantum computing or cryptography, this challenge is built for you. Sign up, take on a milestone, and win $10K+. Every solution is published openly, so your work becomes part of the public record of what current techniques can actually do.
Sign up: https://www.qbittensorlabs.com/enigma/challenges/breaking-rsa
For enterprises
If you work in security or tech leadership, start thinking about your cryptographic posture now.
Where is encryption used in your infrastructure? Which algorithms are you using? Which are vulnerable to future quantum attack? You don't need to solve everything today, but you need to start understanding your exposure.
Three things to do right away:
- Ask your infrastructure team where RSA and ECC encryption is used. Be specific about data at rest, data in transit, and data in use.
- Watch this Breaking RSA Challenge unfold and use the milestones as a window on current cryptanalytic capabilities.
- Start thinking about migration planning. Not panicking. But seriously planning.
Assess your cryptographic posture: PQarc pilot available now, reach out to our team.
Coming next week: Our technical whitepaper "Quantum's Hard Takeoff" goes deeper into why algorithmic progress compounds, why timeline nonlinearity matters, and what enterprises need to know about Q-Day preparedness. Stay tuned.
The broader picture
As quantum computing advances, cryptanalysis capability is increasing. The time to prepare is now, and this challenge brings that into focus. By bringing together researchers and coders worldwide to openly test cryptanalysis methods, enterprises get the transparency they need to prepare responsibly.
We're thrilled to be part of The Breaking RSA Challenge with qBitTensor Labs, because clear, reliable evidence of where cryptanalytic capability stands today isn't optional. It's essential preparation for enterprises worldwide.
Sign up: https://www.qbittensorlabs.com/enigma/challenges/breaking-rsa