The post-quantum glossary.

Harvest Now, Decrypt Later

Harvest now, decrypt later is an attack where adversaries record encrypted traffic today to decrypt it once quantum computers can break RSA and ECC.

CNSA 2.0

CNSA 2.0 is the NSA's quantum-resistant algorithm suite for US National Security Systems: ML-KEM-1024, ML-DSA-87, AES-256, SHA-384/512, and LMS/XMSS.

FIPS 203

FIPS 203 is the US federal standard specifying ML-KEM, NIST's post-quantum key-encapsulation mechanism, finalized on August 13, 2024.

FIPS 204

FIPS 204 is the US federal standard specifying ML-DSA, NIST's primary post-quantum digital signature algorithm, finalized on August 13, 2024.

FIPS 205

FIPS 205 is the NIST standard specifying SLH-DSA, the stateless hash-based post-quantum digital signature scheme, finalized August 13, 2024.

NIST PQC Standardization

NIST PQC Standardization is the multi-year competition that selected and standardized quantum-resistant algorithms, producing FIPS 203, 204, and 205 in 2024.

NSM-10

NSM-10 is the May 2022 White House memorandum directing US federal agencies off quantum-vulnerable cryptography, with a risk-mitigation goal of 2035.

FN-DSA

FN-DSA is NIST's forthcoming Falcon-based post-quantum signature standard (FIPS 206), notable for the smallest signatures of the NIST PQ signature schemes.

ML-DSA

ML-DSA is NIST's primary post-quantum digital signature algorithm (FIPS 204), a lattice-based scheme replacing RSA and ECDSA signatures.

ML-KEM

ML-KEM is NIST's standardized post-quantum key-encapsulation mechanism (FIPS 203), used to establish shared secrets that resist quantum attack.

SLH-DSA

SLH-DSA is NIST's stateless hash-based post-quantum signature standard (FIPS 205), whose security rests only on the hash functions it is built from.

Cryptography Bill of Materials

A Cryptography Bill of Materials (CBOM) is a structured inventory of the cryptographic assets in a system: algorithms, keys, certificates, and protocols.