This talk will give an overview of post-quantum encryption and digital signature primitives recently standardized by NIST to which a lot of governments and organizations are currently transitioning. The session will also give a brief description of additional algorithms that are currently in the pipeline at NIST and talk about what kind of challenges one faces when trying to migrate more complex protocols to quantum-safe.

Dr. Vadim Lyubashevsky is a Principal Research Scientist and manager of the Foundational Cryptography group at IBM Research in Zurich, where he has worked since 2015. Prior to this, he was a researcher in the cryptography group at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and before that, a post doc in the Foundations of Computing group at Tel Aviv University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in 2008.

His main research focus is on designing efficient quantum-safe cryptographic protocols based on the hardness of lattice problems. He has worked on the foundations of practical lattice encryption, digital signatures, and is currently interested in zero knowledge proofs and real-world privacy preserving primitives. A lot of his research has been funded by the ERC (European Research Commission) starting and consolidator grants, and some past works have received IACR Test-of-Time awards at Asiacrypt 2024 and Eurocrypt 2025. He co-led the CRYSTALS team which produced the CRYSTALS-Kyber (ML-KEM) and the CRYSTALS-Dilithium (ML-DSA) NIST standards for post-quantum encryption and digital signatures.

Modern digital security depends on cryptographic systems like RSA and elliptic curve cryptography, which rely on the computational difficulty of problems such as integer factorization and discrete logarithms. Quantum computers fundamentally change this equation. Algorithms like Shor’s algorithm could enable sufficiently powerful quantum machines to break these widely used encryption schemes, putting sensitive data, communications, and critical infrastructure at risk. Even before large-scale quantum computers exist, the “harvest now, decrypt later” threat is already driving urgency across governments and industries.

Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is the response to this challenge. PQC refers to new cryptographic algorithms designed to be secure against both classical and quantum attacks, while remaining deployable on today’s systems. Standardization efforts led by organizations such as NIST and the IETF are shaping how these algorithms are adopted in real-world protocols.

In particular, hybrid approaches—such as hybrid TLS that combine classical encryption with PQC algorithms—are emerging as a practical transition strategy, enabling organizations to deploy quantum-resistant protections without sacrificing compatibility.

Nalini Elkins is a Trustee of the Industry Network Technology Council. ​​She is also the CTO and co-founder of Outside the Stacks, Inc. Nalini is a recognized leader in the field of computer performance measurement and analysis. In addition to being an experienced software product designer, developer, and planner, she is a formidable businesswoman. She has been the founder or co-founder of three start-ups in the high-tech arena.

Nalini started her career doing network design and monitoring for the Chevron network. She specializes in network performance analysis, measurement, monitoring, tuning, and troubleshooting of large enterprise networks. One of her specialties is training and network design for IPv6 migration for large enterprises.