Education

The first step in solving a problem is understanding it. Leaders and decision makers from government and industry need to understand how critical this transition is, and why the timeline will require parties to act immediately to avoid both harvest and decrypt scenarios as well as falling behind on the timeline. The technical workforce will need to understand how cryptography fits into protocols, and how those protocols are used to maintain security.

Goals

1. Draw up a list of terms along with possible definitions.
2. Come to a consensus on those definitions, and possibly which terms are preferred.
3. Determine the major deadlines and bottlenecks in transition.
4. Work backwards to determine a timeline for intermediate steps.
5. Determine key information required to find and upgrade cryptography.
6. Package that information in an easily accessible form for the workforce.
7. Publicize the information.

Impact

1. Educate the workforce to enable them to transition to post-quantum cryptography.
2. Facilitate communication, de-mystify this area.
3. Form consensus around these terms.
4. Convey the urgency required.
5. Provide a guide to the actions required to mitigate the threat.