The rise of quantum computing promises breakthroughs in science, industry, and technology, but it also brings unprecedented risks to digital security. Quantum computers will have the processing power to break many of today’s widely used public key encryption and digital signature algorithms, making them obsolete soon.

When that happens, the consequences could be severe:

• Identity theft on a massive scale
• Device impersonation in critical systems
• Compromise of sensitive communications across industries
  
  

For security-conscious product developers, the message is clear: the time to act is now. Identifying vulnerable products and systems to start the migration to quantum-safe cryptography.

The Quantum Threat has already begun

While large-scale quantum computers capable of breaking today’s algorithms may still be years away, cyber adversaries aren’t waiting. They are already engaging in harvest now, decrypt later attacks, what means they are collecting encrypted data today with the intent to decrypt it in the future when quantum computers become available.

Because sensitive data can retain its value for years or even decades, protecting it now is essential. This is especially critical for long-lifecycle devices such as embedded systems and FPGAs, where development, testing, certification, and deployment can span many years. Delaying action means deploying devices that could be vulnerable before their lifecycle ends.

The global Shift to PQC

To address this threat, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched the world’s largest open effort to design and standardize Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms.

This multi-year process brought together leading cryptographers worldwide to develop algorithms that proved to be resilient against those attacks.

The result: a set of NIST-standardized PQC algorithms, including:

• Module-Lattice-based Key Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM) which enables two parties to securely establish a shared secret key over an untrusted public channel that creates the foundation for encrypted communication
• Module-Lattice-based Digital Signature Algorithm (ML-DSA) that enables the creation of unique digital signatures, to allow others to verify the integrity of the message and authenticity of its sender
  
  

These algorithms are now ready for implementation and KiviCore’s PQC IP cores make it possible to deploy them efficiently and securely in FPGA designs today.