NIST post-quantum standards
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Relevant to AI safety infrastructure: quantum computing advances could undermine cryptographic systems protecting AI deployments, training data, and secure communications, making PQC migration a near-term technical safety concern.
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Summary
NIST's official PQC project page documents the release of three landmark post-quantum cryptographic standards (FIPS 203, 204, 205) in August 2024, covering lattice-based and hash-based algorithms for key encapsulation and digital signatures. Organizations are urged to begin migrating immediately, with quantum-vulnerable algorithms to be deprecated by 2035. This represents the primary U.S. government framework for cryptographic resilience against future quantum computing threats.
Key Points
- •FIPS 203 (ML-KEM), FIPS 204 (ML-DSA), and FIPS 205 (SLH-DSA) are the three principal PQC standards released in August 2024.
- •NIST mandates deprecation of quantum-vulnerable cryptographic algorithms from its standards by 2035, with high-risk systems transitioning much earlier.
- •Standards are based on lattice-based and hash-based cryptography, selected through a multi-year international competition involving industry, academia, and governments.
- •The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence is actively working with partners to develop migration tools, interoperable solutions, and guidance.
- •Organizations are advised to audit systems now to identify where vulnerable algorithms are used and begin planning replacements.
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Post-Quantum Cryptography | CSRC
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Short URL: https://www.nist.gov/pqcrypto
For a plain-language introduction to post-quantum cryptography, see What Is Post-Quantum Cryptography?
PQC Standards | Migration to PQC | Ongoing PQC Standardization Process
NIST’s Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) project leads the national and global effort to secure electronic information against the future threat of quantum computers—machines that may be years or decades away but could eventually break many of today’s widely used cryptographic systems. Through a multi-year international competition involving industry, academia, and governments, NIST released the principal three PQC standards in 2024 and is developing additional standards to serve as backups or alternatives. Organizations should begin applying these standards now to migrate their systems to quantum-resistant cryptography.
Alongside these standards, NIST conducts foundational cryptographic research; collaborates with industry and federal partners to guide organizations preparing for PQC migration; and administers the Cryptographic Module Validation Program to promote validated, trustworthy cryptography. These efforts both protect data and information systems and sustain U.S. leadership in quantum information science and cryptographic innovation.
PQC Standards
In August 2024, NIST released its principal PQC standards (as Federal Information Processing Standards, or FIPS), specifying key establishment and digital signature schemes based on candidates evaluated and selected through this multi-year process.
FIPS 203
Module-Lattice-Based
Key-Encapsulation Mechanism Standard
(ML-KEM)
FIPS 20
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