Encryption & Key Management , Endpoint Security , Hardware / Chip-level Security

Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration Faces a Hardware Problem

Migrating to post-quantum cryptography might sound fine in theory, but can organizations procure the new hardware they need, and from a trusted supplier? Answering that question has cost, trust and geopolitical implications, said Moona Ederveen-Schneider, founder and CEO of Resilia Connect.

Some existing hardware may be patchable, provided vendors ship patches or undertake recertification. But other infrastructure may be impossible to update and will require physical replacement to run quantum-safe cryptography. Whether organizations can procure this hardware at an affordable cost from a trusted supplier in the needed timeframe is an open question for businesses and Western governments, she said.

"We cannot update and patch all of the hardware that's in use today," Ederveen-Schneider said. With PQC migration timelines for many organizations arriving in years - not decades - governments and organizations thinking that in the event of supply trouble, they can find another, more trusted and reliable supply chain is a "dangerous illusion."