Why federal agencies must act now on post-quantum cryptography

Less than a year ago, NIST released its first set of Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) standards. The call then went out from quantum cryptography experts for federal agencies to immediately start planning upgrades of crypto-agile IT infrastructure to firmware or software incorporating the new PQC standards.

It’s pressing to implement a transition strategy as soon as possible. Estimates are that the first cryptographically relevant quantum computers will be commercially available in 2030.

Transitions don’t happen overnight, and bad actors will almost certainly have been working at ways to use the capabilities of those devices to wreak havoc on public infrastructure. For example, “harvest now-decrypt later” schemes involve harvesting data that has been encrypted with classic algorithms today and decrypting it later with the use of a quantum computer that is powerful enough to break public-key cryptography.

What’s more, now that the PQC standards have come out, NIST has followed up with NIST IR 8547. The initial public draft came out in November 2024, providing more guidance on transitioning to PQC standards. NIST outlined a comprehensive approach to transitioning from quantum vulnerable cryptographic algorithms – everything from post quantum digital signature algorithms to key establishment schemes.

As a part of this process, NIST will be deprecating specific crypto-primitive algorithms and schemes. Agencies, therefore, have a more urgent impetus to have their systems migrated before those algorithms are deprecated.

In the past, cryptographic migrations have taken over a decade and this migration to post-quantum cryptography will more than likely take at least that long if not longer.

All of this talk of quantum transition is easy to say, but how does an organization even take the first steps toward developing a quantum transitions strategy? Let’s break it down into seven steps.

Awareness

This is fairly self-explanatory, but as the saying goes, the longest journey begins with a single step. It is absolutely essential to be fully aware of the challenge – not only the risks, but also the actions that need to be done to be ready to meet this impending threat.

Inventory cryptographic technologies and prioritize high-risk systems

This is something you should have done already through a manual process. The Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) released specific instructions to federal agencies on inventorying their cryptographic systems.

The guidelines explained how agencies would inventory their most critical cryptographic systems, along with a deadline of May 4, 2023, to submit their list of prioritized inventories.

Unfortunately, for many, this was a paper exercise. A manual process is less precise than one that makes use of available electronic tools, which leads us to the next step.

Automate crypto discovery

Your organization has almost certainly created much more crypto in the intervening period since you manually conducted your inventory. The crypto inventory process is not a one and done; it is a repetitive, continual process because you're continually creating crypto within your environment.

Consequently, automating crypto discovery is the most effective way of keeping up with the changes your organization has experienced since your first inventory.

Evaluate tools to automate discovery and inventory

There are many tools in the marketplace, from many vendors, that can assist in the discovery and inventory process. You can really start to get a more accurate inventory of your crypto with such automated tools.

After all, you simply don't know what you don't know. By leveraging automated tools, you will know better what you have in your environment.

Set up a PQC test environment

Some encryption technologies, such as hardware security modules, were available with the pre-PQC standard algorithms years ago.

Now that the actual standards are out, however, it's time to upgrade your environment. You’ll need to test the impact the PQC algorithms will have on your environment, because they will generate larger keys, and the size of those larger keys could affect overall performance in ways you hadn't anticipated.

Practice crypto agility

The concept of crypto agility is to support the classic algorithms and the PQC algorithms available today, to prepare for the future. That's what makes you crypto agile.

For example, if you are using an aging hardware security module, as described above, it may not be able to meet that crypto agility capability. After all, vendors aren’t developing the crypto algorithms for quantum with outdated equipment.

When you’re engaged in digital modernization efforts, it’s important to know that the devices you’re using will be quantum safe and crypto agile. If not, you need to start modernizing your environment to set up a test environment.

In March of this year, NIST released Cybersecurity White Paper, Considerations for Achieving Crypto Agility (NIST CSWP 39) that outlines the challenges, tradeoffs and approaches to achieving crypto agility while maintaining interoperability.

Apply quantum key generation and implement quantum resistant algorithms

The foundation of encryption lies in the quality of the cryptographic keys used to encrypt and decrypt data. If these keys are compromised, then the entire foundation of security, and ultimately the organization, is at risk.
Organizations should leverage a quantum random number generator (QRNG) to generate quantum-enhanced keys. Using QRNG you are able to produce high quality entropy which is the basis for all random numbers and cryptographic keys.

It goes without saying that organizations need to ensure that their encryption solutions are using the standardized PQC algorithms—or are crypto-agile and have an upgrade path to utilize PCQ algorithms in the near future.

This is not an overnight process. It will take years to migrate all of your systems. Since, cryptographically relevant quantum computers could be available by 2030, so you have only until then to transition your systems to the NIST post quantum crypto standards.

In this regard, industry may have a leg up on agencies. Industry as a whole has been working on a transition strategy for years, which makes sense – agencies can’t get ready without industry being ready as well.

The transition to a more quantum-safe crypto environment is an involved process and the seven steps outlined here will help you understand the importance of having a strategy to tackle this arduous migration effort.

Get started today by leveraging tools to automate crypto discovery, setting up a PQC test environment, ensuring you practice crypto agility and apply the standardized PQC algorithms to your high-risk systems to ensure a successful PQC effort.

Gina Scinta is deputy chief technology officer of Thales Trusted Cyber Technologies.