January 2025 was shaped by parallel moves on post-quantum cryptography and fresh commitments to quantum research funding. In its final days, the Biden administration issued an executive order embedding PQC procurement requirements and a 2030 TLS migration deadline into federal policy for the first time. South Korea concluded its three-year KpqC competition by selecting four sovereign cryptographic algorithms distinct from NIST’s standards. Canada announced more than CAD 74 million for 107 quantum projects, while Germany’s BSI awarded the world’s first Common Criteria EAL6 PQC certification to Infineon. The OECD published its first dedicated quantum policy primer, and a growing number of EU member states joined the collective call for PQC migration by 2030.
United States: Biden Executive Order Sets Federal PQC Migration Deadlines
What happened. On January 16, 2025, President Biden signed Executive Order 14144, “Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation’s Cybersecurity.” The order directed CISA to publish a list of product categories where PQC-capable solutions are widely available within 180 days. Agencies were given 90 days after a product category’s listing to require PQC support in new solicitations. The order also required the Secretary of Defense and the Director of OMB to issue requirements for all federal agencies to support TLS 1.3 no later than January 2, 2030, and directed the Departments of State and Commerce to engage allied governments on NIST PQC adoption within 90 days.
Why it matters. EO 14144 was the first executive order to attach procurement consequences to PQC migration. By linking federal purchasing power to PQC-capable products, the order created a demand signal that, if implemented, would accelerate product development timelines across firewalls, VPNs, cloud platforms, and IoT devices. The January 2, 2030 TLS deadline effectively set a federal “Q-Day” target for cryptographic readiness. The diplomatic engagement provisions, requiring State and Commerce to rally allied governments around NIST standards, would have extended the order’s reach well beyond federal IT systems. However, its timing (four days before the presidential transition) raised immediate questions about continuity. The incoming Trump administration did not revoke the order on Inauguration Day, but the fate of its implementation timelines remained uncertain.
What remains unclear. Whether the Trump administration will enforce, modify, or effectively shelve the order’s PQC provisions. Whether the 180-day CISA product categorization timeline will be met. How the diplomatic engagement mandate interacts with the new administration’s foreign policy priorities. Whether OMB’s estimated $7.1 billion cost for federal PQC migration between 2025 and 2035 will be reflected in future budget requests.
Who should care. Federal CISOs and IT procurement officers. Software and hardware vendors selling to the U.S. government. Cryptography product companies seeking to time PQC feature releases. Allied governments monitoring U.S. PQC standardization influence. Defense contractors managing National Security Systems.
South Korea: KpqC Competition Selects Four Sovereign Cryptographic Algorithms
What happened. On January 16, 2025, the Korean Post-Quantum Cryptography (KpqC) competition announced its final winners after three years of evaluation. Two key encapsulation mechanisms (SMAUG-T and NTRU+) and two digital signature schemes (HAETAE and AIMer) were selected. The algorithms differ from those chosen by NIST, creating a distinct Korean cryptographic toolkit. AIMer was jointly developed by Samsung SDS and KAIST, while HAETAE is a lattice-based variant that uses a more efficient rejection sampling technique than NIST’s Dilithium.
Why it matters. South Korea is now among a small group of countries (alongside China and, to a degree, France) pursuing sovereign PQC algorithms that diverge from NIST selections. This approach carries both strategic and practical consequences. It provides cryptographic supply chain independence and hedges against the risk that a flaw is discovered in one of the NIST standards. It also creates interoperability questions for Korean companies operating in markets (such as the EU and the United States) that are standardizing around NIST algorithms. The involvement of Samsung SDS as a co-developer signals that Korea’s sovereign algorithms have an industrial pathway from the outset, not merely an academic one.
What remains unclear. Whether Korean government systems will mandate KpqC algorithms exclusively or permit hybrid implementations with NIST standards. How Korean technology exporters will manage dual compliance. Whether the KpqC algorithms will be submitted for international standardization through ISO or other bodies. The timeline for mandatory adoption within Korean government and critical infrastructure systems.
Who should care. Cryptographic product developers targeting the Korean market. Korean exporters in telecommunications, defense, and financial services. International standards bodies tracking PQC fragmentation risk. Allied governments assessing interoperability implications with Korean defense and intelligence systems.
Canada: More Than CAD 74 Million Awarded Across 107 Quantum Projects
What happened. On January 21, 2025, NSERC announced more than CAD 74 million (~US$52 million) for 107 quantum science projects aligned with Canada’s National Quantum Strategy. The funding spanned quantum algorithms, encryption, communications, computing, materials, and sensing. Separately, on January 27, NSERC and UKRI announced CAD 4.2 million and GBP 4 million for 10 joint Canada-UK quantum projects in communications, sensing, and detection.
Why it matters. The CAD 74 million package is one of the largest single research funding announcements under Canada’s National Quantum Strategy. It funds not only research but also the training of more than 500 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, directly addressing the workforce pipeline that most national strategies identify as a bottleneck. The inclusion of 64 international collaboration grants reflects Canada’s model of using research funding as a vehicle for bilateral and multilateral engagement. The separate Canada-UK announcement extends this approach with a focused bilateral instrument, following through on commitments made under both countries’ national quantum strategies.
What remains unclear. How the 39 Alliance Quantum and four Alliance Consortia Quantum projects will be evaluated for commercial or policy impact. Whether the funding level represents an increase, a plateau, or a decrease relative to previous years under the National Quantum Strategy. Whether the international collaboration grants will lead to sustained partnerships or remain one-off project-based engagements.
Who should care. Canadian quantum researchers and graduate students. UK quantum researchers in sensing and communications. Industry partners seeking public research collaboration in Canada. Policymakers comparing national quantum funding levels across G7 countries.
Germany: Infineon Receives World’s First EAL6 PQC Certification from BSI
What happened. On January 23, 2025, Infineon Technologies announced it had received the world’s first Common Criteria EAL6 certification for a PQC algorithm implementation in a security controller, awarded by Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). The ML-KEM algorithm was implemented on Infineon’s TEGRION controller, a 28nm device. Applications include eSIM, 5G SIM, smart cards, personal IDs, payment cards, and eHealth cards.
Why it matters. EAL6 is among the highest assurance levels under the Common Criteria framework recognized by governments worldwide. This certification is the first tangible product-level validation that PQC can be implemented in mass-market hardware at the highest security assurance tiers. For government procurement officers and critical infrastructure operators, it removes the objection that PQC products are not yet certified. BSI’s willingness to certify PQC at EAL6 also signals the agency’s confidence that ML-KEM is ready for deployment in high-assurance environments, ahead of many other national certification bodies. The range of target applications, from identity documents to 5G SIMs, indicates that PQC’s integration into everyday consumer and government technology is now a matter of product cycles rather than research timelines.
What remains unclear. Whether other national certification bodies will recognize or follow BSI’s certification under Common Criteria mutual recognition arrangements. How quickly other chipmakers will pursue comparable certifications. Whether the certification covers only the algorithm implementation or extends to side-channel resistance specific to PQC.
Who should care. Smart card and secure element manufacturers. Government identity document and eHealth system procurement authorities. Payment card issuers and processors. Telecommunications operators deploying 5G SIM infrastructure.
OECD: First Dedicated Quantum Technologies Policy Primer Published
What happened. The OECD published “A Quantum Technologies Policy Primer” on January 28, 2025, as Digital Economy Papers No. 371. The 72-page paper was produced with input from approximately 40 experts of 21 nationalities over ten months through the GFTech Focus Group on Quantum Technologies. It examined applications across sensing, computing, and communication, and identified policy challenges including supply chain constraints, workforce gaps, and dual-use risks.
Why it matters. As the OECD’s first dedicated quantum technology policy publication, the primer establishes the organization’s analytical framework for a topic that has been addressed primarily at the national level. For the 38 OECD member countries, the primer could become a reference point for policy design, particularly on issues where national approaches diverge, such as export controls, workforce mobility, and standards alignment. Its call for “anticipatory governance” and international collaboration positions the OECD as a potential venue for future norm-setting, although it is too early to assess whether member countries will translate these recommendations into coordinated action. The identification of supply chain constraints and unequal access as cross-cutting risks aligns with concerns that smaller countries have raised about being excluded from quantum’s benefits.
What remains unclear. Whether the primer will lead to OECD principles or recommendations on quantum technology governance, as the organization has done for AI. What specific policy instruments, if any, will follow from the primer’s publication. How the OECD’s work relates to parallel quantum policy discussions in other multilateral forums such as the G7 and UNESCO.
Who should care. Policymakers in OECD member countries designing or revising national quantum strategies. Multinational companies operating across OECD jurisdictions. Non-OECD countries seeking analytical frameworks for quantum policy development. International organizations with overlapping quantum governance mandates.
Also in January 2025
Malaysia-Singapore Special Economic Zone includes quantum tax incentives. The JS-SEZ, formally established on January 7, offers companies investing above RM1 billion in quantum computing supply chain manufacturing a 5% corporate tax rate for up to 15 years, compared to Malaysia’s standard 24% rate. Applications are open through December 2034.
Argentina orders review of all science programs. Resolution 10/2025, published January 9, grants the Innovation, Science and Technology Secretariat authority to evaluate and potentially close research programs not aligned with the government’s strategic plan. The quantum science program created in 2022 faces uncertain status after a 32.9% cut to science investment in 2024.
Portugal demonstrates DISCRETION quantum defense system in Brussels. On January 29, Deimos Engenharia demonstrated a quantum-secure communications system developed with exclusively Portuguese technology at Portugal’s EU permanent representation. The EDIDP-funded project, exceeding EUR 6 million, involved a four-country consortium.
Austria launches Quantum TechDiplomacyTalks series. The Austrian Foreign Ministry hosted the kickoff event on January 24, co-organized with Quantum Science Austria and the Innsbruck Quantum Ethics Lab. Austria has also initiated a joint project with SIPRI on quantum’s peace and security dimensions and introduced a quantum ethics initiative at UNESCO.
Detailed analysis of each development in this briefing, with cross-jurisdictional context and sector-specific assessments, is available to Quantum Policy Radar subscribers.