FINAL WORD algorithm by Yilei Chen briefly caused concern for lattice-based cryptography before being shown incorrect. This episode highlighted how heavily today’ s PQC designs rely on lattice-based schemes, and how few viable alternatives exist. Quantum key distribution, often presented as a solution, is not scalable enough for widespread deployment.
How Soon Will Q-Day Arrive?
While no one can predict the exact date, governments are not waiting. The U. S. NSA’ s CNSA 2.0 guidelines set migration targets for 2030 – 2033, while the U. S. federal government aims for full adoption by 2035. Australia plans completion by 2030, and the UK and EU expect transitions between 2030 and 2035. Regardless of when Q-Day occurs – 2034 or 2050 – most experts agree it will come too soon for organisations that delay preparation.
Two Migration Priorities: Key Exchange and Signatures
Transitioning to PQC involves two critical components: key agreement and digital signatures.
Symmetric encryption( like AES-GCM) is already considered safe against quantum attacks. Grover’ s algorithm does not require doubling key sizes, so AES-128 remains robust. Increasing to AES-256 is optional.
Bas Westerbaan, Principal Research Engineer, Cloudflare www. intelligentcio. com
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