White House: Prepare for cryptography-cracking quantum computers!
President Joe Biden signed a national security memorandum (NSM) on Thursday, calling on government agencies to implement measures that will mitigate the risks posed by quantum computers to U.S. national cybersecurity.
The NSM describes the dangers of cryptanalytically relevant quantum computers (CRQC), such as their potential ability to circumvent current public-key cryptography.
Immediate risks will include:
- Danger of civil and military communications.
- Undermining supervision and control systems for critical infrastructure.
- Defeating 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-resistant cryptography will cover over 50 government agencies that use National Security Systems (NSS) (critical to military or intelligence operations or storing classified information).
As National Director for NSS, NSA Director General Paul M. Nakasone will oversee this entire process to ensure that all NSS systems are resilient to CRQC-based attacks
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will lead the effort to make cryptography quantum-resistant in U.S. government systems and critical infrastructure.
US government agencies are ordered to prioritize the entire process of transitioning to quantum-resistant cryptography and mitigating as much of the quantum risk as possible by 2035.
The directors of CISA and NIST are working to develop technical standards for quantum-resistant cryptography for each of their respective jurisdictions, with the first set to be publicly available by 2024.
In line with these goals, by December 31, 2022, the heads of agencies that fund research, develop, or acquire quantum computers or related QIS technologies will develop comprehensive technology protection plans to ensure QIS R&D, acquisition, and user access.
A continued effort to defend national security in cyberspace
In January, President Biden signed another security memo to increase NSS security 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 U.S. from malicious online activity linked to hackers and cybercriminals , including a national security memo designed to help strengthen the security of critical infrastructure.
This memo was issued in July 2020 in response to ransomware attacks that hit Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods, exposing significant vulnerabilities across U.S. infrastructure.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
