US releases highly anticipated post-quantum encryption standards

Washington: The US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has finalised its principal set of encryption algorithms designed to withstand cyberattacks from a quantum computer.

Designed for two essential tasks for which encryption is typically used—general encryption, used to protect information exchanged across a public network, and digital signatures, used for identity authentication—they are the first from NIST’s post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standardisation project.

These post-quantum encryption standards secure a wide range of electronic information, from confidential email messages to e-commerce transactions, and are ready for immediate use.