Google US Sets 2029 as Deadline for Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration

en.Wedoany.com Report on Mar 27th, Google has announced that it has set 2029 as the deadline for Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) migration, a decision that adjusts predictions regarding the timeline for breakthroughs in quantum computing. In a company blog post, Heather Adkins, Vice President of Security Engineering at Google, pointed out that the development of quantum computers may be faster than expected, posing a threat to current cryptographic systems.

Adkins wrote: "This new timeline reflects the migration needs of the PQC era, based on progress in quantum computing hardware development, quantum error correction, and quantum factoring resource estimates." She mentioned advancements in Google's quantum technologies such as the Willow chip, noting that the estimated number of qubits needed to crack 2048-bit RSA encryption has dropped from 20 million to 1 million, provided error correction techniques can improve reliability.

Adkins added: "Quantum computers will pose a significant threat to current cryptographic standards, particularly to encryption and digital signatures. The encryption threat is already relevant today, with 'harvest now, decrypt later' attacks, while digital signatures are a future threat requiring a transition to PQC before the advent of Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computers (CRQCs). This is why we have adjusted our threat model to prioritize PQC migration for authentication services—a key component of online security and digital signature migration. We recommend other engineering teams do the same." As part of the new timeline, new updates to Google's Android operating system will integrate PQC digital signature protection, using the Module Lattice-Based Digital Signature Algorithm (ML-DSA) standard in a hybrid form, aligning with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Commenting on Google's new quantum stance, Simon Pamplin, Chief Technology Officer at Certes, stated that its revised 2029 estimate is "an important wake-up call." Pamplin noted: "But the most dangerous window is not when quantum computers arrive, it's now. Adversaries are already running 'harvest now, decrypt later' campaigns: stealing encrypted data today with the intent to unlock it when cryptographically relevant quantum computers exist. If your organization still relies on RSA, TLS, or standard PKI to protect sensitive data in transit, that data is already at risk, whether Q-Day is 2029 or 2035. As data flows between legacy systems, multi-cloud environments, artificial intelligence, and the edge, the potential risk organizations face today is very real and will be extremely severe if left unchecked." He believes companies need to seek end-to-end PQC solutions capable of protecting data in all applications and environments, explaining: "Specifically, solutions should enforce sovereign, crypto-agile PQC protection (where only the data owner controls the keys), from server to edge, and the protection should persist with the data, not the infrastructure. Quantum readiness isn't about predicting a date; it's about eliminating long-term exposure before that date becomes irrelevant."