IBM Algorithms Chosen for Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards

International Business Machines Corporation IBM recently announced that two of its developed algorithms have been formally incorporated into the world's first post-quantum cryptography standards, published by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology ("NIST"). This achievement highlights IBM's pioneering role in safeguarding the world's digital infrastructure from the potential cyber threats posed by quantum computing.

The newly standardized algorithms, ML-KEM (derived from CRYSTALS-Kyber) and ML-DSA (derived from CRYSTALS-Dilithium), developed in collaboration with industry and academic partners, are set to aid governments and businesses worldwide in strengthening cybersecurity measures against the quantum threat.

ML-KEM is a key encapsulation mechanism designed for general encryption purposes, such as securing website access, while ML-DSA is a lattice-based algorithm intended for general-purpose digital signature protocols. Additionally, IBM's FN-DSA algorithm is selected for future standardization.

The official publication of these algorithms under NIST's standards marks a crucial step forward in the effort to protect sensitive data from quantum computing threats. Quantum computers, with their growing computational power, could potentially break current encryption methods, making the development of quantum-resistant algorithms essential for future data protection.

IBM's dedication to quantum computing extends beyond technological advancements to ensure quantum safety. The company is actively integrating post-quantum cryptographic solutions into many of its products, including IBM z16 and IBM Cloud. This commitment is further reflected in IBM's Quantum Safe roadmap, which outlines a comprehensive strategy to transition to quantum-safe technology through the phases of discovery, observation and transformation.

As an entirely new branch of computing, quantum computers are quickly accelerating into useful and large-scale systems. Per its Quantum Development Roadmap, IBM is set to deliver its first error-corrected quantum system by 2029, which is projected to perform hundreds of millions of quantum operations, solving complex and valuable problems that are currently beyond the reach of classical computers.

Looking forward, NIST plans to continue evaluating additional algorithms to expand its toolkit of post-quantum cryptographic solutions with several other IBM-developed algorithms. IBM remains at the forefront of this evolving field, working to ensure the security of data against future quantum threats while advancing its quantum computing capabilities.

Some leading companies operating in this space are Arista Networks, Inc., Motorola Solutions, Inc. MSI and Harmonic Inc. HLIT.

Arista delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 15.02%. It provides cloud networking solutions for data centers and cloud computing environments.

Arista uses multiple silicon architectures across its products. At the core of the company's cloud networking solutions is the Linux-based Extensible Operating System, which was architected to be fully programmable and highly modular.

Motorola delivered an earnings surprise of 8.06%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. In the last reported quarter, it pulled off an earnings surprise of 7.64%. It provides services and solutions to government segments and public safety programs, along with large enterprises and wireless infrastructure service providers.

The company develops and services both analog and digital two-way radio, voice and data communications products and systems for private networks, wireless broadband systems and end-to-end enterprise mobility solutions to a wide range of enterprise markets.

Harmonic delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 32.5%.
Headquartered in San Jose, CA, the company provides video delivery software, products, system solutions and services worldwide.

With more than three decades of experience, Harmonic has revolutionized cable access networking via the industry's first virtualized cable access solution, enabling cable operators to more flexibly deploy gigabit Internet service to consumers' homes and mobile devices.

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