The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a report on transitioning to the post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards it published in 2024 to protect data against future quantum computers. The new resource offers standards developers and other stakeholders in the private sector-led U.S. standardization system a technical reference as they plan their transitions.
The report, NIST IR 8547, “Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards,” lays out NIST’s timeline for moving from quantum-vulnerable algorithms to quantum-resistant standards, including which existing algorithms will be phased out, what needs to change, and when. It also aims to spark the collaboration among industry, standards organizations, and federal agencies needed to accelerate PQC adoption.
A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could one day break the encryption that protects confidential electronic information, from emails to financial records. Although no such machine exists yet, adversaries can steal encrypted data today and decrypt it later, which makes the transition a priority now.
“The report describes different use cases and says why one migration might take longer than another,” said NIST mathematician Dustin Moody, PQC standardization project lead. “We understand there’s not one strategy that fits all use cases, and we want to help people handle their migration while staying abreast of what’s changing.”
The report supports federal migration deadlines. National Security Memorandum 10 set 2035 as the primary target for federal systems. Executive Order 14412 set earlier deadlines for federal high-value assets and high-impact systems: 2030 for key establishment and 2031 for digital signatures. Many organizations that work with the federal government will be affected as well.
The report complements the Migration to Post-Quantum Cryptography project at NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE), which offers practical tools and demonstrations for organizations making the switch.
For more information, access NIST’s press release.
