NIST PQC migration

Practical roadmap toward ML-KEM, ML-DSA and SLH-DSA

NIST published the first finalized PQC standards in 2024. Migration should begin with inventory, then hybrid pilots, before controlled rollout.

0-30 days

Define long-confidentiality data, exposed systems and owners.

Prioritized PQC backlog.

30-90 days

Scan TLS, certificates, SSH, code signing, libraries and vendor dependencies.

Maintainable crypto register.

3-6 months

Ask for hybrid support, timeline, limits, attestations and rollback plans.

Actionable vendor matrix.

6-12 months

Test compatibility, latency, message size, observability and impact on older clients.

Decision records by protocol.

12-24 months

Centralize policies, automate rotation and remove hardcoded algorithms.

Repeatable migration.

Before 2035

Plan RSA/ECC deprecation according to regulatory deadlines and business constraints.

Trajectory compatible with the NIST transition.

NIST references to track

Key-encapsulation mechanism standard, derived from CRYSTALS-Kyber, for post-quantum key establishment.

Primary post-quantum digital signature standard, derived from CRYSTALS-Dilithium.

Stateless hash-based signature standard, derived from SPHINCS+, useful as a diversity option.

Draft transition report identifying vulnerable standards, PQC replacements and the removal horizon for vulnerable algorithms.