Forge 101
Post-quantum cryptography without the quantum headache
💀 Quantum Computers Will Break Everything
Your bank login? Cracked. Your encrypted emails? Readable. Your VPN? Useless.
Quantum computers can solve math problems that would take regular computers millions of years. The encryption we use today (RSA, ECC) relies on those "hard" math problems.
⏰ When Should You Panic?
Nobody knows exactly when quantum computers will be powerful enough. But here's the scary part:
NOW: Hackers are recording your encrypted traffic today
2030-2035?: Quantum computers powerful enough to decrypt
THEN: All that recorded data gets decrypted. Oops.
🧮 Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC)
New math. Different math. Math that quantum computers CAN'T break easily.
NIST spent 8 years testing these algorithms. They're ready.
RSA, ECDSA, X25519
ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA
🧪 The Algorithms (Just 3 to Remember)
- ML-KEM — Key exchange (replaces X25519/ECDH). For sharing secrets between two parties.
- ML-DSA — Digital signatures (replaces RSA/ECDSA). For signing certificates and documents.
- SLH-DSA — Hash-based signatures. The paranoid option — different math, ultra-safe.
📦 The Catch: Bigger Keys & Signatures
PQC keys are chonkier. Not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing:
🔀 Hybrid Mode: Best of Both Worlds
Not ready to go full PQC? Use hybrid — classical + quantum-safe together. If either one holds, you're protected.
The gold standard for TLS today. Chrome, Firefox, Cloudflare already support it.
If PQC has a flaw, classical protects you. If quantum breaks classical, PQC protects you.
🚀 What Should You Actually Do?
Most browsers already support it. Your connections can be quantum-safe today.
OpenSSL 3.5+ has native PQC support. Time to upgrade.
Make sure they handle bigger keys and signatures properly.
The harvest-now-decrypt-later clock is already ticking.
⌨️ Copy-Paste Commands
openssl genpkey -algorithm ML-KEM-768 -out key.pem
# Test hybrid TLS
openssl s_client -connect quantumnexum.com:6443 -groups X25519MLKEM768
🔧 Try It Now
Generate PQC keys, test TLS connections, compare algorithms — all in your browser.