The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is expected to publish the standard in 2024, but CISA urges stakeholders to prepare in advance, citing potential risks from quantum computing to the entire critical infrastructure.

Quantum computers use qubits, or ‘quantum bits’, to deliver higher computing power and speed in certain scenarios, including solving mathematical problems that the current encryption standards rely on.

As such, quantum computing is expected to become a threat to current cryptographic standards, which support network security and also ensure data confidentiality and integrity.