Quantum Computers are Coming! What This Means for Cryptography in ID Documents

With the development of quantum computers, the cryptography of today will have to adapt. For ID documents, cryptography is used to ensure citizen privacy, to verify the authenticity of a document and to provide secure access to government web services. To remain resistant against quantum computers and to secure future solutions, new cryptographic techniques called Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) must be developed. While the advent of quantum computers is uncertain, IDEMIA has already started working on this challenge. Standardization is a key element for the transition to PQC, and IDEMIA has been participating in committees that discuss urgent topics for ID documents. Having already developed a passport based on PQC algorithms to secure the biometric data stored in the chip, IDEMIA will present the status and the future direction of this technology.