NSA Prepares Cryptography Industry for Future Quantum Resistance

Computer systems responsible for the integrity of national security data will move toward full adoption of the next generation of cryptographic algorithms on an “aggressive timeline,” according to National Security Agency guidance.

The NSA’s advisory and related FAQ information released this week urge national security industry vendors to adopt quantum-resilient encryption immediately in products they sell to the government. The agency expects the transition to be complete by 2035.

The government has been preparing to counter threats from quantum-computing capabilities employed by malicious actors for years. “Steal-now, decrypt-later” attacks already worry cryptologists, who tend to agree that definitive quantum breakthroughs ...