On November 11, 2020, the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) published a white paper titled “Preparing for Quantum-Safe Cryptography.” The document set out the NCSC’s position on mitigating the threat to cryptography posed by developments in quantum computing, according to the NCSC publication page.
The white paper stated that quantum-safe cryptography (post-quantum cryptography) would provide the best mitigation for the quantum computing threat. It noted that the NCSC does not endorse Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) for government or military applications, citing limitations including the need for specialist hardware and the inability to provide digital signatures.
On the timeline for standards, the paper indicated that NIST standards for quantum-safe cryptography would be available from 2022 to 2024. It cautioned against early adoption of non-standardized quantum-safe cryptography, describing the transition to new cryptographic infrastructure as “an inherently complex and expensive process.”