How deeply does Real-World Cryptography cover post-quantum cryptography?

Explains quantum attacks, migration concerns, standardization, and major algorithm families, including Kyber, Dilithium, XMSS, and SPHINCS+.

Post-quantum cryptography

As explained in Real-World Cryptography

A post-quantum cryptosystem is a cryptographic system designed to resist attacks from quantum computers while operating on conventional computing infrastructure.

Post-quantum cryptography designs cryptographic systems that resist quantum-computer attacks while running on conventional infrastructure. It responds mainly to Shor’s algorithm, which threatens RSA and other widely used asymmetric systems, while Grover’s algorithm weakens 128-bit symmetric security. section 14.0 section 14.5

A practical transition involves several choices:

Plan early: replacing public-key encryption, key exchange, and digital signatures is unlikely to be a simple drop-in upgrade. section 14.1.4
Protect long-lived information first, because data captured today could be decrypted after scalable quantum computers appear. section 14.1.4 section 14.4
Know the main families: hash-based signatures, lattice-based systems, code-based systems, isogenies, multivariate polynomials, and strengthened symmetric cryptography. section 14.5

A cautious migration decision

An organization holding confidential data for decades need not panic about uncertain quantum-computer timelines, but should assess its protection horizon and prepare for post-quantum replacements. Lattice-based candidates illustrate the tradeoff: Kyber supports encryption and key exchange, while Dilithium supports signatures. section 14.4 section 14.5

NIST began a post-quantum standardization effort in 2016. Prominent candidates include XMSS and SPHINCS+ for hash-based signatures, plus lattice-based Kyber and Dilithium; standards and attacks can continue to evolve. section 14.1.4 section 14.5

How Real-World Cryptography covers it

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Related concepts

cryptographic primitivealternative to · A cryptographic primitive is a fundamental algorithmic building block that provides a basic security function such as encryption, hashing, or digital signing.
Grover's algorithmcontrasts with · Grover's algorithm is a quantum search algorithm that finds a marked item in an unstructured search space with a quadratic speedup over classical exhaustive search.
Shor's algorithmcontrasts with · Shor's algorithm is a quantum algorithm that efficiently factors integers and solves discrete logarithms using quantum period finding.
standarduses · A standard is an established rule, specification, or convention that defines a consistent reference for practice, representation, behavior, or evaluation.
elliptic-curve cryptographycontrasts with · Elliptic-curve cryptography is public-key cryptography based on algebraic operations over elliptic curves, typically defined over finite fields.

This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Real-World Cryptography. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.