Accelerating Adoption of Quantum-Secure Cryptography in the Real World
Our Purpose
The Post-Quantum Cryptography Coalition (PQCC) comes together as a community of technologists, researchers, and expert practitioners to drive progress toward broader understanding and public adoption of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and the associated National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. The PQCC will emphasize classical cryptosystems with quantum-safe security (vs quantum solutions) to enable information security in an era of cryptographically-relevant quantum computers.
April 2025 Heatmap: Current State of PQC Standards and Adoption
Heatmap
| Standard | Overall Range | Pure PQC encrypt | Hybrid PQ encrypt | Pure PQ sig | Hybrid PQ sig |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSH | 3 to 8 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| TLS 1.2¹ | 0 to 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TLS 1.3² | 3 to 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 3 |
| X.509³ | 3 to 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| S/MIME | 3 to 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| OpenPGP | 2 to 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| IKE/IPSec | 2 to 8 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
| MLS | 2 to 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| DNSSec | 1 to 2 | - | - | 2 | 1 |
| Transport Issues in Standards | Status |
|---|---|
| TCP Initial Congestion Window | 3 |
| IKE first packet | 3 |
| QUIC amplification protection | 2 |
² DTLS 1.3, MACSEC, FIDO/FIDO 2 inherit from TLS 1.3
³ UEFI inherits from X.509
Key
| 0 | Consensus Against Inclusion |
|---|---|
| 1 | Blocked / Stalled |
| 2 | In Progress / Chartered |
| 3 | Active Proposals / Drafts |
| 4 | Progress to Finalization |
| 5 | Finalized / Approved |
| 6 | Integration Progress |
| 7 | Integrated in Libraries |
| 8 | Some Adoption |
| 9 | Broad Adoption |
| - | Unknown / NA |
What’s New
April 2025 Heatmap: Current State of PQC Standards and Adoption
¹ DTLS 1.2, FIDO inherit from TLS 1.2 ² DTLS 1.3, MACSEC, FIDO/FIDO 2 inherit from TLS 1.3 ³ UEFI inherits from X.509
Artifact Signing: Dual, Post-Quantum/Traditional Hybrid Signatures and Downgrades
Authors: Panos Kampanakis (AWS), Daniel Van Geest (CryptoNext Security)Summary: This document discusses how new digital signatures (e.g. quantum-resistant) can be introduced in common artifact/software/firmware signing technologies. It addresses topics related to...
March 2025 Heatmap: Current State of PQC Standards and Adoption
¹ DTLS 1.2, FIDO inherit from TLS 1.2 ² DTLS 1.3, MACSEC, FIDO/FIDO 2 inherit from TLS 1.3 ³ UEFI inherits from X.509 ⁴ DNSSec has no currently chartered working group, but PQC in DNSSec is an IETF research topic.
The PQCC’s aim is to step forward as knowledgeable experts in providing critical outreach and education to support PQC migration and to bolster efforts to establish and implement interoperable standards and technology.
Advisory Board
Douglas Stebila
Jonathan Katz
Hart Montgomery
Peter Schwabe