US Government Urges Federal Contractors to Strengthen Encryption

Companies working with the US government may be required to start protecting their data and technology from attacks by quantum computers as soon as July.

The National Institute for Standards and Technology, part of the Department of Commerce, will in July stipulate three types of encryption algorithms the agency deems sufficient for protecting data from quantum computers, setting an internationally-recognized standard aimed at helping organizations manage evolving cybersecurity threats.

The rollout of the standards will kick off “the transition to the next generation of cryptography,” White House deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger told Bloomberg in Cambridge, England ...