We recently had the pleasure of delivering a webinar discussing the next era of security with our partners from Garantir and how the threat of quantum computers is driving the requirements being set by many government, industry and security bodies.
In this blog we are going to share the most important insights about the when and how to mitigate the risks of Quantum Computers and ensure your enterprise can remain compliant with the emerging standards led by the Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite (CNSA) 2.0.
The Quantum Computer Threat
Quantum Computers threaten the very foundations of how we use cryptography for application security today. Data protection concepts based on classical asymmetric cryptography, like the use of RSA or ECC based signature schemes, will no longer be secure and will need to be replaced by what are called Post Quantum (PQ) Algorithms.
One of our most important goals of the webinar was to draw attention to the timescales for addressing this threat, and implementing solutions compliant with the latest regulations, such as NSA’s Quantum-Resistant Algorithm Requirements for National Security Systems, as defined by the CSNA 2.0.
→ Want to learn more? Watch the recording of the Garantir & Utimaco webinar “The Next Era of Security: CNSA 2.0 & PQC Essentials”!
The adoption period for using PQ Algorithms is now!
The adoption period of CNSA 2.0 is already upon us for many use cases – particularly code signing, web browsers/servers and cloud services – where the use of PQ algorithms is already the preferred solution.
CSNA 2.0 Defines the Timeline for Protection of Classified Information in the Post-Quantum Age
While CSNA 2.0 is particularly relevant, and in fact mandated, for networks that contain classified information or are otherwise critical to US military and intelligence activities this standard is recognized in the wider security industry as reflecting timescales we should all be working to for all environments and Gartner similarly defines the period of transition to PQ solutions as 2024 to 2027 - during which time they state that data protected by weak cryptography should be purged and crypto-agile solutions implemented.
So whether you are required to sign your code for download or device upgrade scenarios, are signing documents or artifacts for attestation purposes, creating verifiable identities for web-hosted content or PKIs, securing communications or protecting data internally or in the cloud, Quantum Computers risk the security of your solutions and transitioning to the use of PQ cryptography is a critical business imperative and acting now will enable you to maintain compliance with the new security standards
Preparing for the Quantum Age
Migrating to PQ compliant solutions
Discover ⇒ Prepare Infrastructure ⇒ Pilot ⇒ Address Priority Use Cases ⇒ Migrate to full PQ ⇒ Monitor & Maintain
While, of course, it is important to know the timelines we need to work to, the first step is in knowing what is needed and, for any particular scenario, how to go about migrating from your current solution to a new post-quantum solution.
The first step in migrating to PQ compliant solutions is to identify (discover) your cryptography use cases and where you use classical cryptographic algorithms today. Knowing this landscape will enable you to identify your priority use cases – those involving your most sensitive data, and especially the use cases where that data remains sensitive for many years – past the point where Quantum Computers may have developed to the strength required to break the classical cryptography protecting that data.
With this knowledge you can create a migration plan to pilot proposed solutions and transition not only for your priority use cases, but all of your classical cryptography use cases to a fully quantum-resistant solution within the timeframes outlined by CSNA 2.0. And of course, any plan must ensure you monitor and maintain your compliance over time.
Remember though it is not just applications that need transitioning to quantum-resistant solution, a critical part of any plan is to ensure any infrastructure is updated in order to support other areas of migration your migration plan, look at your software build environment, your CI/CD pipeline and ensure that a verified build environment is created, delivering reproducible builds at the level of scale needed for your new solutions.
There are many PQ algorithms, which best suit my use case?
The first step to answering that, is to understand your requirements. Review the deployment environment your solution operates in, the processing power you have available, while also taking into account any memory constraints you might have. Furthermore, you might want to consider your risk profile – as even within the realm of NIST-certified algorithms there is choice - and whether your preference is to opt for newer, less battle-hardened algorithms or those that have been deployed for a longer period of time.
Some algorithms such as XMSS and LMS have been standardized much longer than the more recent approvals given to ML-DSA, ML-KEM and SLH-DSA, but those algorithms bring with them challenges in creating solutions resilient to loss in connectivity or in supporting disaster recovery scenarios, that are less evident with stateless options.
Another choice, for use cases involving large data transfers, that would be problematic for environments with restrictions on space or processing power, is to opt for solutions that allow client-side hashing prior to enacting the signing operation.
Furthermore, the different PQ algorithms have different key and signature sizes and choosing different parameter sets offer a balance between security and performance.
Looking at your requirements and aligning with the characteristics of the PQ algorithms will enable you to choose the algorithm that is best for your use cases.
Garantir & Utimaco Together Enabling the Delivery of
Scalable Secure PQ-resistant Solutions
But whatever your use case is, be it data security, software supply chain, certificate lifecycle management and PKI or Privileged Access Management, Garantir application security will together, with Utimaco’s u.trust GP Hardware Security Modules, provide a FIPS 140-3 Level 3 and Common Criteria EAL 4+ certified Root of Trust. Combining Utimaco’s Quantum Protect application package to it, provides access to Post Quantum Algorithms such as ML-DSA, ML-KEM, LMS & XMSS, enabling you to support the post quantum security that best meets your needs and ensures you are ready and protected as our industry transitions to the next era of security.
