PQShield Demystifies Post-Quantum Cryptography with Leadership Lounge

Post-Quantum Cryptography, or PQC provides a technical approach to protect encrypted data and connections when quantum computers can cost-effectively defeat current approaches. Exactly when this will occur is open to much discussion, but the fact is this day is coming, some say in ten years. One of the imperatives is to deploy quantum-resistant algorithms before this happens. That process can also take a long time, so the time for action is now. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that promotes American innovation and industrial competitiveness through measurement science, standards, and technology. NIST is deeply involved in developing PQC standards and you can get a view of the whole process here.

PQShield is a company that delivers hardware, software, firmware and research IP to enable post-quantum cryptography. Recently, the company started a series of videos to help the industry understand the PQC world and what to do. Let’s look at how PQShield demystifies post-quantum cryptography with Leadership Lounge.

NIST Standards – the PQC Turning Point

There are several short and very informative videos on Leadership Lounge. A complete list and a link is coming. First, I’d like to focus on the second installment, entitled NIST standards – the PQC turning point. Each video features a dialogue between Ben Packman, Chief Strategy Officer and Dr. Ali El Kaafarani, Founder & CEO at PQShield. These gentlemen have a natural and easy-to-watch style. You are essentially listening in on an information-rich dialogue.

In this video, Ben and Ali discuss the publication of the first NIST PQC standards. This is certainly cause for celebration. It represents a substantial achievement for the whole collaborative PQC community. The long road to get to this point is discussed as there were many delays and frustrations along the way. Despite this, Ali points out that the NIST team was always there to provide timely support and clarification. It was indeed a broad collaboration.

He also points out that in recent months, even NIST was anxiously awaiting the publication of the new standards along with the rest of the community. The work has been done, and now the government needs to publish the standards. Ben states that “even NIST wound up in the same boat as the rest of us.”

Even with the long wait, it is pointed out that everyone really appreciated the thorough process, and the communication, clarification, and input from everyone involved. The community will now move to implementation and testing of the new standards, a long and complex process that will continue to require communication and collaboration.

The Leadership Lounge Library

These videos cover a lot of ground, with more on the way. Here is a list of the current topics.

Video 1: Algorithms are just recipes. The release of the new NIST standards is a great achievement, but how do you apply them? At PQShield, this is a question that drives the company towards mature products, solving real-world problems. Ali and Ben come to realize that algorithms are really only recipes – the key is how you use them. 

Video 2: Summarized above.

Video 3: How to think crypto agile. Cryptography is about risk mitigation. It’s a question of how you value your business, and it might well be the last line of defense when it comes to protecting what’s important to you. Ali and Ben talk about the way we each think about our business, and how that impacts decisions we make.

Video 4: Celebrating the cryptography community. Ben and Ali reflect on the origins of PQShield as part of the wider cryptographic community and how great it is to be part of a brilliant but genuinely down-to-earth group of cryptographers.

Video 5: No can to kick down the road – it’s all about compliance. Release of the standards has definitely shifted the focus – it’s now time to talk about how we deploy post-quantum cryptography, and where to start in the supply chain.

Video 6: Post-quantum is an era. The term ‘post-quantum’ defines an era when public key cryptography needs to be replaced with new technology. Ali and Ben discuss some of the wider pieces of cryptography, many of which are not vulnerable to the quantum threat, but form essential components nevertheless, in the ‘post-quantum’ era.

Video 7: Is it time to stop talking about PQC?  Ben and Ali discuss moving into an era when the focus has shifted from the nature of the threat, to talking about compliance with the next generation of standards in public key cryptography.

Video 8: PQC in silicon. Ben and Ali talk about PQShield’s silicon implementation of PQC – the company hasn’t just designed PQC solutions, it’s built hardware IP onto a physical chip.

Video 9: Standardization – what’s next? Ben and Ali discuss NIST’s timeline, including FALCON, Round 4 KEMs, the necessary mix of lattice, code-based and hash algorithms, as well as the ongoing effort to select digital signatures.

To Learn More

You can learn more about PQShield and its unique focus and charter on SemiWiki here. And you can browse all the great videos on Leadership Lounge here. PQC is a challenge that will impact everything. Getting ahead of the game is the best strategy. PQShield is the best partner to do that. And that’s how PQShield demystifies post-quantum cryptography with Leadership Lounge.