Security News > 2024 > July > Preparing for Q-Day as NIST nears approval of PQC standards

While estimates just a few years old suggested that a quantum computer capable of running Shor's Algorithm would not be operationally available until 2029 or later, more recent research to produce fault-tolerant quantum systems, such as the 48 qubit system produced by a team at Harvard, combined with news of PsiQuantum's million qubit system slated to come online in 2027, suggest that the Q-Day horizon, however secretively or publicly it plays out, is coming faster than most anticipated.

According to NIST, the "Goal of post-quantum cryptography is to develop cryptographic systems that are secure against both quantum and classical computers and can interoperate with existing communications protocols and networks." In July 2022, NIST published four draft PQC algorithms.

Finding the right place to deploy PQC first to protect the most secure data systems and meet implementation constraints, while also avoiding the known and unknown pitfalls of trialing new technologies is enough to warrant much of the inaction we're seeing today.

For security-conscious, forward-thinking organizations willing to trial and roll out PQC alongside the forthcoming NIST standardization, specific IT systems should be prioritized to ensure the long-term security of sensitive information.

These systems include key management systems responsible for generating, distributing, and managing cryptographic keys, secure communication systems including virtual private networks, secure email, cloud services, and applications, bespoke critical systems such as those used by financial institutions or in scientific research and engineering environments, along with operationally critical IoT devices.

Although our shared quantum computing-enabled future is constantly evolving alongside the corresponding defensive barriers required, the soon-to-be-published NIST standards offer a call to action backed by a sufficient degree of certainty to those on the fence about starting their PQC implementation journey.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2024/07/01/pqc-standardization/