Harvest Now, Decrypt Later: Why Your Cryptographic Inventory Can't Wait Until 2030
Attackers can copy encrypted data today and keep it until a quantum computer is powerful enough to break the public-key algorithms that protect it. That is "harvest now, decrypt later", and it is why the EU's post-quantum roadmap puts the first steps, including an inventory of where cryptography is used, at the end of 2026 rather than 2030. If your data has to stay confidential for ten years or more, the risk already applies to you. Key Facts · The EU's Coordinated Implementation Roadmap for the transition to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) was published in June 2025 by the NIS Cooperation Group. · By the end of 2026, first steps should be under way, including inventories of cryptographic assets. · By the end of 2030, high-risk use cases should be quantum-safe; the roadmap says quantum-vulnerable public-key mechanisms should not be ...