The European Commission signposted quantum resistant cryptography as the future for electronic machine-readable travel documents (eMRTDs). The threats from quantum have changed the mindset of stakeholders in a two-year project, funded by the Commission, to move towards the post era of quantum computing and standardise resistant cryptographic protocols.
Despite quantum rapidly accelerating, with substantial investments from both public and private sectors, it presents complex security challenges to “classical cryptography” as the capacity of quantum computers expands. The stance of the EU Commission encourages collaborative efforts from member states to “harmonise” safe cryptography to ensure the EU’s digital infrastructures are secure in the next digital era.
Quantum was considered the new technological advancement of encrypting data, provisioning many social and economic benefits. However, understanding that quantum cryptography could be more secure than traditional cryptography has been dismantled, with the security of the system being flawed.
The digital security industry is saying that QR standards and infrastructures need to be developed to protect classical cryptography which is under threat from the continued advancements of quantum.
The European Commission states “It is vital that communications remain protected in the future for the security of our citizens, societies, economies and the EU’s digital single market”. The recommendation published in April 2024 has been followed by the European initiative, the PQC4eMRTD (Post-Quantum Cryptography for electronic Machine-Readable Travel Documents) project.
The project is coordinated by key vendors, Infineon Technologies AG in partnership with Thales and CryptoNext Security, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center from Spain, and the Institute for Comparative Law at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Standardising global QR protocols is high on the agenda and the project will promote synergy between different sectors to create a “detailed blueprint for Europe’s transition to PQC”.
