Glossary
Post-Quantum Cryptography
Post-quantum cryptography describes algorithms designed to remain secure even against an adversary with access to a sufficiently powerful quantum computer, capable of breaking several of the mathematical problems today's widely deployed cryptography relies on. No such computer exists at that capability today, but the migration matters now for a specific reason: data encrypted today, if intercepted and stored, could potentially be decrypted retroactively once a capable quantum computer eventually exists — a risk sometimes framed as 'harvest now, decrypt later,' which makes today's encryption choices consequential for data that needs to stay confidential well into the future.
For authorization specifically, this matters wherever long-term key material or credentials are involved: a certificate or key expected to remain valid and trusted for years is exactly the kind of thing worth reconsidering under this threat model now, well before the underlying algorithms are actually broken, since migrating cryptographic infrastructure at scale is a slow, gradual process that benefits from starting early rather than reacting under pressure.