Page 158 - Cyber Defense eMagazine January 2023

threats, so does the cryptography industry which needs to continuously innovate to stay ahead of looming
risks.

NIST is already leveraging the momentum gathered with the announcement of the new standards with
additional algorithms under consideration for inclusion in a fourth round. Since the beginning of NIST’s
effort there has been a recognition that various systems and processes use different approaches to
encryption. In order to develop and cater for all the variations, further security scrutiny by cryptographers
and mathematicians is crucial to protect us. Cryptography is a never-ending field and requires constant
innovation to keep ahead of current and future threats.

Still, as the process to find more tools goes on, CISOs and cybersecurity leaders need to be adding the
adoption of these standards to their objectives for the coming years. We must include quantum security
in new products being developed, PQC guarantees in vendor contracts and upgrades to legacy
infrastructure must include installing PQC components. Current encryption has permeated every aspect
of business and life making the adoption of post-quantum cryptography the biggest cybersecurity
challenge in decades.

About the Author

Bio: Dr Ali El Kaafarani is the Founder and CEO of PQShield, a
British cybersecurity startup specialising in quantum-secure
solutions. A University of Oxford spin-out, PQShield is pioneering
the commercial roll-out of a new generation of cryptography
that’s fit for the quantum challenge, yet integrates with
companies’ legacy technology systems to protect them from the
biggest threats of today and tomorrow. Dr El Kaafarani is a
research fellow at Oxford’s Mathematical Institute and a former
engineer at Hewlett-Packard Labs, with over a decade of
academic and industrial experience. He is also a leading
authority in the cryptography community.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – January 2023 Edition 158
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