Re: [Cfrg] New draft on the transition from classical to post-quantum cryptography

"Paul Hoffman" <paul.hoffman@vpnc.org> Mon, 08 May 2017 13:46 UTC

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From: Paul Hoffman <paul.hoffman@vpnc.org>
To: "Salz, Rich" <rsalz@akamai.com>
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Date: Mon, 08 May 2017 06:46:36 -0700
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Subject: Re: [Cfrg] New draft on the transition from classical to post-quantum cryptography
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On 8 May 2017, at 5:46, Salz, Rich wrote:

>> And I completely want to avoid any discussion of such a specification 
>> in this
>> document; I consider "when you want to move to post-quantum"
>> orthogonal to "at the time you move, here are your best options".
>
> Well, it's not of course.  What you do when you move depends on what 
> is available at that time and options are likely to improve as Science 
> Marches Forward.

Fair point. There is a subtlety in "when you want to move to 
post-quantum" of "there is a post-quantum solution at the time that 
meets your needs". My unstated assumption is that NIST and others around 
the world will have standardized on some solutions before the readers of 
this document (or a future version of it) feel the need to change. I'll 
reflect that better in the next draft.

> I also think when to move depends on what you're trying to do. The 
> protection you need for online ecommerce buying razor blades is very 
> different from launching missles is very different from long-term 
> archival storage of official documents.
>
> I think both of these things should at least be touched on.

Fully agree.

--Paul Hoffman