Switzerland is establishing itself as a leader in post-quantum cryptography adoption within the banking sector, as 46% of the 80 Swiss banks measured by DuoKey currently negotiate ML-KEM. This figure surpasses adoption rates in the United States at 29% and Germany at 19%. DuoKey’s monthly measurements, based on observed TLS handshakes, reveal a trend: 46 Swiss organizations negotiate ML-KEM because their Content Delivery Network, Cloudflare, Amazon CloudFront, Imperva, or Azure Front Door, has it enabled by default.
Swiss Banks Lead in ML-KEM Adoption Across Europe
DuoKey’s measurements are based on observed TLS handshakes, providing a real-world assessment of cryptographic readiness rather than relying on self-reported data. This suggests that much of the observed progress isn’t driven by proactive, internal security initiatives, but by infrastructure providers.
The overall Quantum Risk Score for the Swiss panel is 63, placing the country in the “vulnerable” tier, ranging from 50 to 69 and indicating a need for continued investment in more comprehensive post-quantum security measures for internal systems, supplier portals, and remote access. The difference in ML-KEM negotiation between types of Swiss banks is small; 10 of 24 cantonal banks (42%) and 27 of 56 other banks (48%) are currently negotiating the protocol.
DuoKey does not publish individual bank results, only grouping organizations of at least 20 to protect privacy and ensure statistically relevant data. The company notes that often the CDN makes the decision, highlighting the role of third-party services in shaping the cryptographic landscape.
Across the entire index of 807 banks globally, 29% negotiate ML-KEM, emphasizing Switzerland’s advanced position. The Swiss panel consists of 276 organizations across the 16 NIS2 sectors, within a larger index of 6,503 organizations in 50 countries, and DuoKey cautions that the panel is still growing, so month-on-month changes will not be reported until it stabilizes.
Quantum Risk Assessment Reveals Swiss Organizational Vulnerability
Banking organizations, comprising 80 entities within DuoKey’s Swiss panel of 276, and manufacturing, with 54, both exceed the index average score of 59. However, the remaining fourteen Swiss sectors, each represented by only ten to twelve organizations, exhibit greater volatility in their scores; a single site can alter the figure by ten points. The barometer measures only public-facing websites, and DuoKey offers a Quantum Risk Score to assess an organization’s complete cryptographic estate, combining algorithm resilience, cryptographic agility, exposure to passive collection and migration posture.
See today’s quantum computing news on Quantum Zeitgeist for the latest breakthroughs in qubits, hardware, algorithms, and industry deals.
