When organizations begin preparing for the Quantum Era, the conversation usually starts in the same place: encryption.

And for good reason, much of the digital world depends on cryptographic systems built around mathematical problems that are extremely difficult for today’s computers to solve. A Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computer, a quantum computer powerful enough to break widely used public-key cryptography, could fundamentally change that assumption.

For roughly a decade, researchers have been working to identify and standardize cryptographic algorithms capable of resisting attacks from both classical and quantum computers. Now that post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards are available, the challenge is shifting from selecting algorithms to implementing them across real-world systems.

That transition is essential, but there is a misconception we need to avoid:

Despite popular belief, replacing vulnerable cryptographic algorithms with post-quantum ones is not always sufficient to make an organization quantum-secure. While in some systems, replacing vulnerable algorithms may address the primary quantum risk, in others, that approach is only one part of the solution.

PQC is a critical component of quantum security, but quantum security can extend well beyond PQC.

Encryption protects data. Security protects systems.

Consider how digital trust works today. When you connect to a bank, access a government service, install a software update, communicate with a device, or authenticate yourself to a network, you are relying on much more than an algorithm.

You are relying on identities.

And the processes that connect them.

Public-key cryptography is fundamental to........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)