TheStateofQuantumReadinessin2024

Integrationchallenges,budget,andskilledlabortoplistofkeyobstaclesinglobalsurveyofITprofessionals.

KEYFACTOR

ProtectYourData

Todayfrom‘Steal

Now,DecryptLater’Attacks

Didyouknowthatmanyhackersstealencrypted

informationbecausetheyhopetodecryptitlater?

Toprotectagainst“stealnow,decryptlater”attacks,modernbusinesseshavestartedtoweavePQCintotheirexistingtechnologies.

Ontheonehand,quantumcomputersholdimmensepotentialforsolvingcomplexbusinessproblems.

Buttheirabilitytobreakwidelyusedencryptionraisesseriousconcernsaboutthesecurityofdataand

criticalinfrastructureeverywhere.

Whatyou’lllearninthisreport

Howorganizationsare

preparingforthetransitiontopost-quantumsecurity

Challengesandroadblocksthatmustbeovercome

Tipsforestablishingcrypto-agility

Resourcesandnextstepsforlearningmoreabout

quantum-safecryptography

Preparationiskey

Stealnow,decryptlaterisaveryrealthreat.Sofeeling“quantumready”issimilartohowyouwouldpreparebeforeanypredictedstorm–andthat’sbypayingattention,planning,andfortifyingyourdefenses.Howwellyoupreparetodaywillmakeallthediferenceforyourorganization’sfuture.

Everyorganizationneedstoprepareforthepost-quantumfuture.Everyindustrywillbeafected,fromgovernmentagenciesand?nancialservicestohealthcare,retail,manufacturing,andmore.

YetnewinsightsfromKeyfactorandmarketresearchleaderVansonBournerevealthatorganizationsarevery

concernedabouttheirabilitytoadapt–andtheyallfacemultipleobstacleswhenplottingarealistictimeline.Oneofthemaintakeawaysfromthesurveyisthis:quantum-readinessisn’tjusta“technologyproblem”butrather,it’safundamentalchangeinhowbusinessesoperate.

Readytolearnmore?Let’sdiveintothePQCsurveyresults.

ExploringtheStateofQuantumReadinessin2024

It’sthetopiconeveryone’sminds–howarewepreparingforPQC?

That’swhyintheyet-to-be-releasedPKI&DigitalTrustReport,VansonBourne’sindustryresearchersaddedanewsectiondevotedentirelytounderstandinghowglobalorganizationsareaddressingpost-quantumreadiness.

Inthissnippetreport,you’llseeasneakpeekofafewofthePQC-relatedquestionsthatwillbefeaturedinKeyfactor’sforthcomingdeepdiveintoPKI&DigitalTrust.Thedataisbasedon1,200interviewsfromITsecurityprofessionals

workinginallmajorindustriesintheU.S.,Canada,andEurope.

Thefollowingquestionslookathowcompaniesarepreparingforchangesincryptography,theirobstacles,theirtimelines,andtheiractionsteps!

01.

Myorganizationisconcernedabouttheabilitytoadapttorisksandchangesincryptography.

80%

Keytakeaway

Mostrespondentsareconcernedaboutthefuture.Indeed,80%agreeorstronglyagreetheyareconcernedabouttheabilitytoadapttorisksandchangesincryptography.

02.

Whatprimaryobstacles,ifany,isyourorganization

encounteringintheprocessofgettingreadyforPQC?

Lackofexecutivesupport

31%

LackofunderstandingofPQC

37%

Di代cultyin?ndingskilledpersonnelforPQCinitiatives

43%

LimitedbudgetandresourcesforPQCimplementation

45%

Integrationchallengeswithexistingsecurityinfrastructure

44%

Uncertainty

regardingthepaceofPQCadoption

43%

Regulatoryor

complianceconcerns

38%

Keytakeaway

Respondentsrevealedthatsigni?cantchallengesstandinthewayofPQCreadiness.ITandsecurityteamswillbehard-pressedtoacquiretheskillsandknowledgerequiredtoimplementnewstandards.Oneofthebiggestchallengeswillbeinteroperabilitybetweenservers,

applications,HSMs,andothercriticalinfrastructure.

03.

HowlongdoyoubelieveitwilltakeyourorganizationtotransitiontoPQC?

TOTAL:1163|MEAN:4

1-2years(23%)2-5years(57%)5-10years(20%)

Morethan10years(0%)Don’tknow(0%)

Keytakeaway

Thetransitiontoquantum-readysecurityhasonlyjustbegun.Itwilltakeyearstoaccomplish.

Thinkaboutthemorethandecade-longtransitionfromSHA-1toSHA-2.Manyorganizationsstill

haveSHA-1inuseintheirenvironment,despiteNISTannouncingendoflifein2011.ThetransitiontoPQCwillbeonanentirelydiferentscale.

KEYFACTOR

04.

Whatactionsisyourorganizationtaking,ifany,toprepareforPQC?

Asmentionedearlier,quantum-readinessisn’tjustatechnologyproblem-it’safundamentalchangeinhowbusinessesoperate.So,itmightbehelpfulforyoutoseethetopfourthingsthatrespondentsaredoing.

Researchingand

evaluatingsolutions

Takingstockoftheircryptographicassets

46%

49%

51%

49%

TrainingstafonPQC-relatedtopics

Theiractionsinclude

developingaPQC

implementationstrategy

Keytakeaway

ThesecoreactivitieswillallhelpsurveyrespondentsprepareforPQC.Theevenbetternews?They’realsoactivitiesthatYOUcanstartdoingtoo.Forexample,haveyoutakenaninventoryofallcryptographicassets,includingkeys,certi?cates,andalgorithms?Haveyouconsideredhowyou’lltrainstaf?Remember--thesenewalgorithmsimpacteverything,whichmeansthateveryoneisgoingtohavetounderstandthis.

QuantumReadiness:

TheTimetoPrepareisNow

ThePQCwaveisonthehorizon.Whileorganizationshavetheirsightssetonwhat’scoming,mostaren’tpreparedtoadapt–despiterepeatedwarningsabout“stealnow,decryptlater”threats.

Thebiggestchallengesthatstandintheirwayareintegrationcomplexities,budgetwoes,asteeplearningcurve,andgeneraluncertainty.

Andthequestionof“when”toprepareismostcertainlyachallenge,assurveyresultsindicatethatglobal

organizationsacrossmanyindustriesareunderestimatingthescopeandthetimingforpost-quantumreadiness.

“NISTandothergovernmentagencieshaverepeatedlywarnedtotakeriskassessmentandplanningseriously,”

saysChrisHickman,ChiefSecurityO代ceratKeyfactor.“Regardlessofwhetherwecanestimatethearrivalofthequantumcomputingera,wemustprepareourinformationsecuritysystemstobeabletoresistquantumcomputing.”

Despitethesetimelinesnafusanddelays,Hickmansaysit’spromisingtoseethatmanyorganizationsarebeginningtotaketheir?rststeps–planning,gettingtoknowtheirenvironment,andbetterunderstandingthesenewalgorithmsandwhattheymeanfortheirbusiness.

cryptographicalgorithmswilltakemorethan?ippingaswitch,and

“Shiftingtonewquantum-era

manyarestartingtorealizeit.

Hickmanaddsthatwhenquantumcomputingbecomesavailable,vulnerabilitieswillspringupquickly.Dueto“steal

now,decryptlater”risks,hesayshisgoalisforeveryonetostartmakingchangesasquicklyaspossible,becausetherisksgobeyondintegrationandcompatibilityintheirecosystem.

“Therearealreadyhostilehackersandgroupsusingex?ltrationattackstogatherdatatodaythatcouldonedaybe

valuable.Ontopofthat,wehavethechallengeofskillsshortages–thatmeans?ndingpeoplewhounderstandthisandupskillingpersonnelyoualreadyhave.Thereasonwhyeveryonehasto‘getit’isbecausethesenewalgorithmsimpacteverything.Everyonemustunderstandthechangescoming.”

PlanningforPost-QuantumStartsToday

Knowwhatyouhave

Your?rststepistobuildaninventoryofallkeys,certi?cates,protocols,andtheapplicationsthatusethem.Thiswillhelpyouprioritizewheretofocus?rstbythesensitivityofdataandinfrastructure.

Buildyourplan

Next,you’llneedtoprioritizewheretofocus?rst,andmapoutastrategyforthetransition.Thisiswheretestingbegins,gettinghandsonwithnewPQCstandardstotestfor

compatibility,performance,andimplementation.

Beginthetransition

Thiswilltaketimeandcarefulexecution,butdoneright,andyou’llbewellonyourwayto

quantum-readiness.Automationwillbecriticalforthisstep,makingiteasiertomigratetonewstandards,suchasre-issuinganddeployingcerti?catesfromanewPQC-capablePKI.

01.

02.

03.

FinalThoughts:PrepareNo