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IEEE Spectrum

Post-Quantum Cryptography Standard is Here

IEEE Spectrum
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The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the standardization of three post-quantum cryptography encryption schemes.

NIST’s previous cryptography standards, developed in the 1970s , are used in almost all devices, including Internet routers, phones, and laptops.

Many devices that use RSA security, like cars and some IoT devices, will remain in use for at least a decade .

Two of the three schemes already standardized by NIST are based on another hard problem, called lattice cryptography.

Lattice cryptography rests on the tricky problem of finding the lowest common multiple among a set of numbers.

NIST’s announcement is exciting, but the work of transitioning all devices to the new standards has only just begun.