Quantum computers offer potential transformational power for organizations dealing with complex computational problems in various industries such as finance, pharmaceuticals, and automotive. They also pose the risk of breaking the cryptography that currently secures many common digital activities, such as online banking or something as common as browsing the internet (Yes, that green lock in your address bar means you can trust the connection – for now).
Large-scale quantum computing is coming soon, and with that comes new cybersecurity threats. One of these threats is "steal now, decrypt later," where attackers harvest encrypted data and wait for quantum technology advancements to decrypt it. This article explores the threats quantum computing has on current encryption algorithms, and how crypto agility can help you safeguard your digital assets from steal now, decrypt later attacks.
It is not a question of if, but when quantum computing will arrive and be used for malicious purposes, as the expectation is that this new technology will be capable of cracking most, if not all, of the asymmetric cryptographic algorithms currently used to protect data. While quantum computing is not expected to arrive until 2030, the time is now for companies to get prepared for these threats that are related to this new technology. The question is, however, when and how they should prepare.
When it comes to preparing for post-quantum computing, the legacy mechanisms for effective implementation, integration, and management of cryptography in business applications have raised severe technical, performance, and security issues. Cryptomathic’s Crypto Service Gateway (CSG) is an agile cryptographic platform that enables businesses to be better prepared for the threats posed by quantum computers.
This article discusses Accenture’s insights on crypto-agility that were derived from its recent research report on preparing for post-quantum decryption.
This article discusses how prepared companies are for quantum computing cybersecurity risks based on a recent Deloitte poll and what the current threats are.
Just a month ago, NIST announced its selection of three digital signature algorithms and one key establishment mechanism (KEM) for future use in quantum-resistant cryptography applications. Also, four algorithms for post-quantum key establishment were selected as candidates for the 4th round of evaluation, for potential standardization at a later time.
An over five-year-long process has come to a preliminary end: On July 5, 2022, NIST issued the long-awaited announcement of the winners of Round 3 of the NIST Post-Quantum Crypto (PQC) Standardization Process, that is, which quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms NIST has selected for standardization.
Cryptography is the backbone of data security technology. In this article, Jo Lintzen, MD at Cryptomathic Inc. explains the preparations for post-quantum cryptography standards and the importance of future-proofing how we use cryptography to protect data in the advent of quantum computing and beyond.
