Post-Quantum, PQC, Quantum Security
PostQuantum.com – Industry news and blog on Quantum Computing, Quantum Security, PQC, Post-Quantum, AI Security
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What Will Really Happen Once Q-Day Arrives – When Our Current Cryptography Is Broken?
As the world edges closer to the era of powerful quantum computers, experts warn of an approaching “Q-Day” (sometimes called Y2Q or the Quantum Apocalypse): the day a cryptographically relevant quantum computer can break our current encryption. Unlike the Y2K bug—which had a fixed deadline and was mostly defused before…
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Q-Day Predictions: Anticipating the Arrival of CRQC
While CRQCs capable of breaking current public key encryption algorithms have not yet materialized, technological advancements are pushing us towards what is ominously dubbed 'Q-Day'—the day a CRQC becomes operational. Many experts believe that Q-Day, or Y2Q as it's sometimes called, is just around the corner, suggesting it could occur…
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Quantum Readiness for Mission-Critical Communications (MCC)
Mission-critical communications (MCC) networks are the specialized communication systems used by “blue light” emergency and disaster response services (police, fire, EMS), military units, utilities, and other critical operators to relay vital information when lives or infrastructure are at stake. These networks prioritize reliability, availability, and resilience – they must remain…
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Harvest Now, Decrypt Later (HNDL) Risk
"Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" (HNDL), also known as "Store Now, Decrypt Later" (SNDL), is a concerning risk where adversaries collect encrypted data with the intent to decrypt it once quantum computing becomes capable of breaking current encryption methods. This is the quantum computing's ticking time bomb, with potential implications for…
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Post-Quantum Cryptography PQC Challenges
The transition to post-quantum cryptography is a complex, multi-faceted process that requires careful planning, significant investment, and a proactive, adaptable approach. By addressing these challenges head-on and preparing for the dynamic cryptographic landscape of the future, organizations can achieve crypto-agility and secure their digital assets against the emerging quantum threat.
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Quantum Era Demands Changes to ALL Enterprise Systems
In my work with various clients, I frequently encounter a significant misunderstanding about the scope of preparations required to become quantum ready. Many assume that the transition to a post-quantum world will be straightforward, involving only minor patches to a few systems or simple upgrades to hardware security modules (HSMs).…
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Bills of Materials for Quantum Readiness: SBOM, CBOM, and Beyond
Quantum computing threat is forcing organizations to inventory their digital assets like never before. With powerful quantum attacks on the horizon, businesses must identify what they have - software, cryptography, sensitive data, hardware - before they can secure it. Security standards and government directives now urge a comprehensive cryptographic inventory…
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Inside NIST’s PQC: Kyber, Dilithium, and SPHINCS+
In 2022, after a multi-year evaluation, NIST selected CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, and SPHINCS+ as the first algorithms for standardization in public-key encryption (key encapsulation) and digital signatures. Kyber is an encryption/key-establishment scheme (a Key Encapsulation Mechanism, KEM) based on lattice problems, while Dilithium (also lattice-based) and SPHINCS+ (hash-based) are digital signature…
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The Future of Digital Signatures in a Post-Quantum World
The world of digital signatures is at an inflection point. We’re moving from the familiar terrain of RSA and ECC into the new territory of lattices and hashes. It’s an exciting time for cryptography, and a critical time for security practitioners. Authentication, integrity, and non-repudiation are security properties we must…
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Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computers (CRQCs)
Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computers (CRQCs) represent a seismic shift on the horizon of cybersecurity. In this article, we’ve seen that CRQCs are defined by their ability to execute quantum algorithms (like Shor’s and Grover’s) at a scale that breaks the cryptographic primitives we rely on daily. While still likely years…
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Quantum Computer Factors Record 48-Bit Number – How Far Are We from Cracking RSA-2048?
Factoring a 2048-bit number is in a different universe of complexity, requiring thousands of high-quality qubits and billions of operations – a capability that will likely require years of additional scientific and engineering breakthroughs. The current milestone, while remarkable for quantum computing, does not change the security status of RSA…
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Engaging and Managing Vendors for Quantum Readiness
Vendors provide critical software, cloud platforms, fintech solutions, IoT devices, and more - and these often rely on vulnerable cryptographic algorithms under the hood. If a key vendor lags in upgrading their encryption, it could expose your data or systems to quantum-enabled attacks. Engaging vendors early allows you to:
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The Toffoli Gate: The Unsung Workhorse in Quantum Codebreaking
Understanding the Toffoli gate’s role isn’t just an academic exercise – it has real implications for when and how quantum computers might break our cryptography. Each Toffoli gate isn’t a single physical operation on today’s hardware; it has to be decomposed into the basic operations a quantum machine can do…
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Mitigating Quantum Threats Beyond PQC
The article explores limitations of PQC and explores alternative and complementary approaches to mitigate quantum risks. It provides technical analysis of each strategy, real-world examples of their deployment, and strategic recommendations for decision-makers. The goal is to illuminate why a diversified cryptographic defense – beyond just rolling out new algorithms…
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Introduction to Crypto-Agility
As we edge closer to the Q-Day—the anticipated moment when quantum computers will be capable of breaking traditional cryptographic systems—the need for crypto-agility becomes increasingly critical. Crypto-agility is the capability of an organization to swiftly and efficiently transition between different cryptographic algorithms and protocols in response to emerging threats and…
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