NIST Pushes Post-Quantum Cryptography Adoption Across Critical Sectors

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is pushing to accelerate adoption of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) across critical sectors as major technology companies implement NIST standards at scale, agency Director Arvind Raman said on Sept. 25.

Speaking at the Quantum World Congress, Raman said the effort is a top priority for NIST and aligns with White House directives aimed at advancing quantum innovation and protecting against emerging quantum-enabled cybersecurity threats.

“NIST-based PQC standards are being implemented at scale as we speak,” Raman said, pointing to adoption by major technology companies including Apple, Google, IBM, and Amazon.

Google employs the ML-KEM cryptography protocol in Chrome, while IBM and Amazon have implemented PQC protections across portions of their infrastructure and cloud offerings, Raman said.

ML-KEM is a NIST PQC standard designed to secure data exchanges against future attacks from quantum computers. It is among the first three post-quantum cryptography standards NIST finalized in August 2024.

NIST is also “working really hard towards scaling the adoption across all critical sectors of PQC,” Raman said.

That work includes collaboration through NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, where Raman said 60 companies are participating in efforts to advance adoption.