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President Joe Biden signed a national security memorandum (NSM) on Thursday calling on government agencies to implement measures that mitigate the risks posed by quantum computers to US national cybersecurity.
The NSM describes the risks of cryptanalytically relevant quantum computers (CRQCs), such as their likely ability to slow down current public-key cryptography.
Immediate risks would include:
- Endanger civil and military communications.
- Undermine monitoring and control systems of critical infrastructure.
- Defeat security protocols for the vast majority of Internet-based financial transactions.
Migration to quantum resistant cryptography
The multi-year effort to migrate all vulnerable cryptographic systems to quantum strong cryptography will encompass more than 50 government departments and agencies that use National Security Systems (NSS) (critical to military or intelligence operations or store classified information).
As NSS National Manager, NSA Director General Paul M. Nakasone will oversee this entire process to ensure that all NSS systems are resilient to CRQC-based attacks.
“A cryptanalytically relevant quantum computer could compromise civil and military communications, as well as undermine critical infrastructure monitoring and control systems,” Nakasone said.
“The No. 1 defense against this quantum computing threat is to implement quantum-resistant cryptography in our most important systems.”
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will lead the effort to shift from quantum-resistant cryptography in US government systems and critical infrastructure.
U.S. government agencies are directed to prioritize the entire process of transitioning to resilient quantum cryptography and mitigating as many quantum risks as possible by 2035.
The directors of CISA and NIST are working on developing technical standards for quantum resistant cryptography for each of their respective jurisdictions, with the first set to be publicly available by 2024.
An ongoing effort to defend national cyber security
In January, President Biden signed another security memorandum to increase the security of the NSS and require federal agencies to report breaches of national security systems to the NSA.
These two memos build on the Biden Admin’s work to defend the US against malicious cyber activity linked to nation-backed hackers and cybercriminals, including a national security memorandum designed to help strengthen the security of the critical infrastructure.
That memo was issued in July 2020 in response to ransomware attacks that hit Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods, exposing significant vulnerabilities in US infrastructure.
“Implementing approved quantum-resistant cryptographic solutions across all of our systems will not happen overnight, but it is critical that we chart a path to get there considering the potential threat of quantum computing,” the director added on Thursday. NSA Cybersecurity Officer Rob Joyce.
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