The White House has issued a National Security Memorandum directing NIST to lead the transition to quantum-resistant cryptography in the United States. Key points:
1. NIST must initiate an open working group with industry and stakeholders to advance quantum-resistant cryptography adoption, within 90 days.
2. NIST is establishing a “Migration to Post-Quantum Cryptography Project” at the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence to develop tools for automated discovery and remediation of vulnerable systems.
3. Once the first set of NIST quantum-resistant cryptography standards are released, the agency will publish an engagement plan to solicit feedback and establish a deprecation timeline for quantum-vulnerable cryptography.
4. The goal is to transition the maximum number of systems off quantum-vulnerable cryptography within a decade of the initial standards publication, with a target of 2035.
5. NIST will work with technical standards bodies to encourage interoperability of commercial cryptographic approaches.
The transition to quantum-resistant cryptography is crucial, and NIST is taking steps to lead the effort, but the process will take several years and require collaboration across industry and government.
Keywords: Post-quantum, PQC, Quantum-resistant
