The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Group of Seven (G7) Cyber Security Working Group are urging organizations and governments to begin transitioning to post-quantum cryptography to protect data, systems and assets from quantum computing threats.
The G7 Cyber Security Working Group consists of CISA and Canada’s Communications Security Establishment; France’s National Cybersecurity Agency; Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security; Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency; Japan’s National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity; the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology; and the European Union’s The European Commission and the EU Agency for Cybersecurity. The group said quantum computing poses a real threat to public-key cryptography, and the security of both public and private organizations. While the group said the timeline for the threat is uncertain, the possibility that quantum computers will be able to break widely used public-key cryptography mechanisms and threaten the security of digital infrastructure is possible.
“Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is a new field of cryptography, designed to be resistant to both classical and quantum cryptographic attacks, that can safeguard organizations from both the conventional cyber threat and the quantum threat. For this reason, governments and organizations should begin their PQC transition as soon as possible to avoid exposure to quantum risks and to provide a level of long-term protection of confidential data,” the G7 Cyber Security Working Group said.
The G7’s call to action outlined five priorities – raising awareness of quantum risks, developing national strategies that support PQC adoption and integration, advancing research and development for quantum-safe technologies, fostering public-private partnerships to share resources and experience, and integrating PQC into cybersecurity requirements and procurement processes.