Cryptography Apocalypse

6Quantum-Resistant Cryptography

The cryptography we will be using in a post-quantum world is a combination of quantum-resistant and quantum-based cryptography. Quantum-resistant cryptography is traditional, binary-based, cryptographic algorithms that are resistant to known quantum attacks. A quantum cryptographic algorithm is cryptography that uses quantum computing and properties to protect information. This chapter will cover quantum-resistant cryptography, and Chapter 7 will cover quantum-based cryptography.

This chapter is full of cryptographic technical and advanced mathematical jargon. General computer security readers might wonder why they should be interested in all the technical details behind particular algorithms. They might feel that all they really need to know to do their job are the names of the post-quantum algorithms … and this is perhaps true.

But it can be extremely helpful to anyone involved with implementing cryptography to understand the basics of the cryptography involved. This chapter gives a basic overview of over two dozen quantum-resistant algorithms so that you can understand them much in the same way you likely already understand that large prime numbers give RSA and Diffie–Hellman ciphers their inherent protection and why that reliance on prime numbers makes them susceptible to quantum attacks. Knowing more than the name of a cryptographic algorithm can only help when someone, be it an end user or a boss, asks more specific questions about your particular ...