The Linux Foundation has launched the Post-Quantum Cryptography Alliance (PQCA), a collaborative initiative aimed at advancing post-quantum cryptography. The PQCA will address security challenges posed by quantum computing, developing software for standardized algorithms and new post-quantum algorithms.
Founding members include Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Google, IBM, IntellectEU, Keyfactor, Kudelski IoT, NVIDIA, QuSecure, SandboxAQ, and the University of Waterloo. The alliance will work on various technical projects, including software for evaluating and deploying new post-quantum algorithms. The PQCA will also host the new PQ Code Package Project, which will build software implementations of forthcoming post-quantum cryptography standards.
Introduction to the Post-Quantum Cryptography Alliance
The Linux Foundation has recently announced the establishment of the Post-Quantum Cryptography Alliance (PQCA). This collaborative initiative aims to promote the development and adoption of post-quantum cryptography, a field that addresses the security challenges posed by quantum computing. The PQCA brings together industry leaders, researchers, and developers to produce high-assurance software implementations of standardized algorithms and support the development and standardization of new post-quantum algorithms.
The PQCA aims to serve as a central resource for organizations and open-source projects seeking production-ready libraries and packages. This is in line with the U.S. National Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Advisory concerning the Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite 2.0. The PQCA is committed to enabling cryptographic agility across the ecosystem for the timelines described therein.
The Need for Post-Quantum Cryptography
With the rapid advancements in quantum computing, the need for robust cryptographic solutions that can withstand attacks from future cryptographically relevant quantum computers has become paramount. The PQCA, with support from founding members such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco, Google, IBM, IntellectEU, Keyfactor, Kudelski IoT, NVIDIA, QuSecure, SandboxAQ, and the University of Waterloo, aims to advance the security of sensitive data and communications in the post-quantum era.
The PQCA will undertake various technical projects to support its objectives, including developing software for evaluating, prototyping, and deploying new post-quantum algorithms. By providing these software implementations, the foundation seeks to facilitate the practical adoption of post-quantum cryptography across different industries.
Post-Quantum Cryptography: Building on Previous Work
The work of the PQCA builds on the foundation laid by many of the founding members over the last decade preparing for the transition to post-quantum cryptography. Several members of the PQCA have played major roles in the standardization of post-quantum cryptography to date, including as co-authors of the first four algorithms selected in the NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization Project (CRYSTALS-Kyber and CRYSTALS-Dilithium, Falcon, and SPHINCS+).
One of the launch projects of the PQCA is the Open Quantum Safe project, which was founded at the University of Waterloo in 2014 and is one of the world’s leading open-source software projects devoted to post-quantum cryptography. The PQCA will also host the new PQ Code Package Project, which will build high-assurance production-ready software implementations of forthcoming post-quantum cryptography standards, starting with the ML-KEM algorithm.
PQCA Founding Members’ Statements
Several founding members of the PQCA have expressed their commitment to the alliance and its mission. AWS, for instance, has already started to invest in post-quantum key agreement and post-quantum signature schemes. Google, on the other hand, is focusing on driving industry contributions to standards bodies, moving the ecosystem beyond theory and into practice, ensuring that Google is PQC ready, and helping customers manage the transition to PQC.
IBM, a key player in driving the development and adoption of post-quantum cryptography, believes that industry collaboration will be key to addressing current and potential future threats from cryptographically relevant quantum computers. Other founding members, including IntellectEU, Keyfactor, Kudelski IoT, NVIDIA, QuSecure, SandboxAQ, and the University of Waterloo, have also expressed their support for the PQCA and its mission.
About the Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is a leading organization for collaboration on open-source software, hardware, standards, and data. Its projects are critical to the world’s infrastructure, including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, ONAP, PyTorch, RISC-V, SPDX, OpenSSF OpenChain, and more. The Linux Foundation focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users, and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration.
