The Threat Posed by “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later”
Encryption — for each information at relaxation in storage methods or in transit by way of networks — has remained a robust technique to shield delicate info for many years. Even when cybercriminals might entry and steal this information, encryption rendered it basically ineffective to them. Nevertheless, the flexibility to “harvest now, decrypt later” (HNDL) — as soon as quantum computing turns into highly effective sufficient — has modified this equation.
Cybercriminals are already accumulating encrypted information in the present day with the intention of decrypting it sooner or later. This poses a specific menace for information in industries similar to healthcare, monetary companies and authorities, the place information maintains its worth for a few years.
The specter of HNDL signifies that any information a cybercriminal steals now might turn into beneficial sooner or later, as soon as it has been decrypted. To handle this menace, healthcare organizations should start working now to stop the decryption of their information sooner or later. There’s nothing they will do to guard their information as soon as it’s been stolen.
LEARN MORE: Enhancing cyber resilience can assist your group bounce again from safety incidents.
Answer: The Arrival of Put up-Quantum Cryptography
In Could 2022, Nationwide Safety Memorandum 10 directed federal businesses to arrange for the specter of quantum decryption. The memo requires businesses to take particular actions as a part of a multi-year strategy of migrating susceptible pc methods to quantum-resistant cryptography.
“Put up-quantum cryptography is about proactively growing and constructing capabilities to safe crucial info and methods from being compromised by means of using quantum computer systems,” mentioned Rob Joyce, then director of cybersecurity for the Nationwide Safety Company (NSA), in an August 2023 assertion.
In August 2024, NIST printed three cryptographic requirements designed to withstand an assault from quantum computer systems. These requirements — ML-KEM, ML-DSA, and SLH-DSA — are meant to offer safety for information throughout quite a few methods, together with e-mail and e-commerce. NIST has inspired IT groups to implement these requirements are quickly as potential.
Expertise distributors similar to Cisco Methods, Verify Level and Palo Alto Networks have developed merchandise with post-quantum cryptography (PQC) capabilities. These instruments, together with firewalls and community switches, can assist healthcare organizations shield their information from quantum threats whether or not in transit or in storage.
“It’s crucial for all organizations, particularly crucial infrastructure, to start making ready now for migration to post-quantum cryptography,” mentioned Jen Easterly, then director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company, in an August 2023 assertion.
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