TLS 1.3 and Post-Quantum Encryption for HN?

Question

Could HN benefit from a TLS upgrade, as it's currently at TLS v1.2, (not e.g.: v1.3) (for me, at least)? Also could it benefit from being a leader in implementing post-quantum cryptography?Cloudflare is beginning to implement it: https://pq.cloudflareresearch.com (See cloudflare blog posts about it, too for many more details)..

theandrewbailey · Accepted Answer

HN doesn't handle super-secure data, outside of email addresses and passwords (which should not be re-used elsewhere). I'm skeptical that HN would benefit much from using post-quantum crypto, over using current recommendations like https://ssl-config.mozilla.org/#server=nginx&version=1.27.3&...
That said, HN could use an update in configuration (disable TLS 1.0 and 1.1 and CBC ciphers, enable TLS 1.3): https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=news.ycombina...
I get it, new crypto algorithms are cool, but these just aren't widely implemented in browsers or servers yet, and we're still several years out from a quantum computer breaking 2048 bit RSA or 256 bit ECDSA.

ggm · Answer

In my personal QC skeptic opinion, frequent recertification of the site certificate would do for now. We don't need perfect forward secrecy and so future pqc outcomes about decoding packet captures made now seem fruitless for this context. (We don't need pfs because afaik everything here is visible, and individual user logins aren't based on public private cryptography. If the tls cert was rolled every day I wouldn't care)
Maybe the cert issuing chain needs to be looked at for its risks but I can't see the site certificate itself being at risk.
I mean I am glad cloudflare and others are showing capability but my highly broken foot gun of futurology says to me, this is a fools errand. I've been wrong many many times.

userbinator · Answer

Perhaps you're a bit too paranoid?