NIST releases the first standardized PQC algorithms

Today the world of cryptography welcomes the first standardized post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) algorithms which are designed to be secure against attacks from classical and quantum computers.

This follows an 8-year evaluation process initiated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to provide quantum-resistant cryptographic standards.

Although there are no known cryptographically relevant quantum computers currently threatening our cybersecurity infrastructure, governments and organizations must timely mitigate the so-called “harvest now, decrypt later” attack vector.

“Suppose your enemy gets a hold of your data today, and you’re not so worried because it’s encrypted. But if a quantum computer comes out in say 10 years, and you were hoping that data to be protected for 15 years… you’re not going to be protecting your data long enough.”

Dustin Moody, mathematician in the NIST Computer Security Division, said during an ATARC event in May 2024

At IDQ, we see this milestone as a significant boost for the momentum and prioritization of the enterprise migration to Quantum-Safe.

As part of a defense-in-depth approach to network security and to ensure additional flexibility with the migration to Quantum-Safe, industry experts advocate for Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) to be combined with the Quantum Key Distribution (#QKD). This “Dual Strategy” to mitigate the Quantum threat is already being embraced by the leading global financials.

At IDQ, we deployed our first QKD systems in 2007 and released our 4th generation XG series in 2022, which has been implemented in major nation-wide networks.

“Today is an important day for the entire IT world. The release of these new standards is going to push government agencies and organizations everywhere to implement quantum-safe solutions more rapidly. The best protection for sensitive data is to combine PQC with QKD to create a cohesive, robust, multi-layered security framework that leverages the strengths of each technology and provides for defense-in-depth. The logical next steps is for NIST and other security agencies to also standardize QKD.”

Grégoire Ribordy CEO and co-founder, ID Quantique

 

Read more about our recommended journey to migrate to a quantum safe infrastructure.