Post-Quantum Cryptography for Engineers
draft-ar-pquip-pqc-engineers-03

Abstract

The presence of a Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computer (CRQC) would render state-of-the-art, public-key cryptography deployed today obsolete, since all the assumptions about the intractability of the mathematical problems that offer confident levels of security today no longer apply in the presence of a CRQC. This means there is a requirement to update protocols and infrastructure to use post- quantum algorithms, which are public-key algorithms designed to be secure against CRQCs as well as classical computers. These algorithms are just like previous public key algorithms, however the intractable mathematical problems have been carefully chosen, so they are hard for CRQCs as well as classical computers. This document explains why engineers need to be aware of and understand post- quantum cryptography. It emphasizes the potential impact of CRQCs on current cryptographic systems and the need to transition to post- quantum algorithms to ensure long-term security. The most important thing to understand is that this transition is not like previous transitions from DES to AES or from SHA-1 to SHA2, as the algorithm properties are significantly different from classical algorithms, and a drop-in replacement is not possible.

Authors

Aritra Banerjee
Tirumaleswar Reddy.K
Dimitrios Schoinianakis
Tim Hollebeek

(Note: The e-mail addresses provided for the authors of this Internet-Draft may no longer be valid.)