Biden Signs Quantum Cyber Security Act
US President Joe Biden has on 21st of December now signed the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act into law. The legislation is designed to secure the federal government’s systems and data against quantum-enabled data breaches.
The law is designed to secure the federal government systems and data against the threat of quantum-enabled data breaches, ahead of ‘Q Day’, the point at which quantum computers are able to break existing cryptographic algorithms.
The act was co-sponsored by Republican Senators Rob Portman and Democrat Senator Maggie Hassan and is a bipartisan act that introduces a number of obligations on federal agencies to prepare for more security cryptography in the face of the threat of quantum computing.
These include requirements to maintain inventories of information technology, migrating iT systems, and more. The requirements must be completed within six months of the law being enacted, which will occur over 2023. Additionally, within one year of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) issuing post-quantum cryptography standards, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will publish guidance requiring federal agencies to prioritise IT systems for migration to post-quantum cryptography. The agencies will then have to develop a plan for the migration.
Experts believe quantum computing will advance to this stage in the next five to 10 years, potentially leaving all digital information vulnerable to cyber-threat actors under current encryption protocols.
In August 2022, CISA published guidelines to help organisations’ transition to post-quantum cryptography.
In November the White House gave federal agencies until May 4 next year to provide an inventory of assets containing cryptographic systems that could be cracked by quantum computers.
White House: CISA: QuantumInsider: FedScoop: Infosecurity Magazine: Dark Reading: Oodaloop:
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