PQC Practice Path
Moving off RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography is a multi-year programme. This path puts PlayCISO's post-quantum pages in the order the work happens: understand the threat, know your deadlines, build an inventory, assess and plan, then practise and test yourself.
What changed in 2026
- 27 Oct 2026. NIST IR 8547 is final. RSA, ECDSA, EdDSA, DH, ECDH and MQV are deprecated after 2030 and disallowed after 2035, at every strength. The 2024 draft split by key strength; the final does not. NIST IR 8547 (final)
- 22 Jun 2026. Executive Order 14412: US federal high value assets and high impact systems must use PQC for key establishment by 31 Dec 2030 and for digital signatures by 31 Dec 2031. OMB M-26-15 (24 Jun 2026) puts it into practice. EO 14412
Many pages still quote the November 2024 draft of IR 8547. This path uses the final.
Tick a step when you have done it. Ticks are kept in this browser only, so they will not follow you to another device. Next up: Cryptography guide.
- Stage 13 steps
Understand
A large enough quantum computer would break RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography, the public-key half of TLS, VPNs, code signing and certificates. Symmetric ciphers such as AES-128 and above hold up. NIST published the replacements (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA) in August 2024 and the transition rules in NIST IR 8547, final in October 2026.
After this stage: You can explain which cryptography is at risk, which is not, and what replaces it.
- Cryptography guideGuide
The building blocks: symmetric, public-key, hashes, signatures and where each is used.
- NIST IR 8547 is finalBriefing
What the final report says, how it differs from the 2024 draft, and what to do first.
- PQC flyersTool
One-page explainers to brief your board, engineers and buyers.
- Stage 21 step
Know your deadlines
Your dates depend on who you are. Everyone building on NIST standards faces "deprecated after 2030, disallowed after 2035". US federal high value assets and high impact systems must move key establishment by 31 Dec 2030 and signatures by 31 Dec 2031. The EU, UK and Canada have their own roadmaps.
After this stage: You know the dates that bind you, the ones that are only guidance, and how many years you have.
Pick your sector and system to see your dates, days left and a Mosca check.
- Stage 33 steps
Inventory
You cannot migrate what you cannot find. OMB M-26-15 calls a continuously updated inventory of cryptographic assets the foundation of the plan, held as a cryptographic bill of materials (CBOM). CycloneDX 1.7 is the current format for one.
After this stage: You have a list of where public-key cryptography is used, by system, algorithm and owner.
- CBOM GeneratorTool
Describe a system and get a CycloneDX 1.7 cryptographic bill of materials.
- Crypto Inventory RegisterTemplate
A register template for the algorithms, keys, certificates and protocols you find.
- Sample CBOM (CycloneDX JSON)Sample file
A worked example file to see what a finished CBOM looks like.
- Stage 42 steps
Assess
Not every system moves first. Prioritise what holds data that must stay secret for years (the "harvest now, decrypt later" risk), what is high impact, and what cannot be upgraded at all. Systems that cannot support PQC should be marked for replacement or decommissioning.
After this stage: You can rank systems by quantum risk and say which ones need replacing rather than upgrading.
- CBOM AnalyzerTool
Upload a CBOM and see the quantum-vulnerable assets and what to fix first.
Score how easily your organisation can swap one algorithm for another.
- Stage 52 steps
Plan
A migration plan sets phases, owners and dates. OMB M-26-15 uses five phases: strategy and discovery, pilots, prioritised migration of key establishment, signature migration, then full migration by 2035. Name who decides, who does the work and who signs off.
After this stage: You have a phased plan with owners that matches your deadlines.
- PQC Migration Project PlanTemplate
Phases, tasks and milestones for the migration.
- PQC RACITemplate
Who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed for each migration task.
- Stage 61 step
Practise
Real migrations hit vendor gaps, hybrid trade-offs and systems nobody owns. A scenario lab lets you make those calls and see the consequences before you make them for real.
After this stage: You have made the hard migration calls once in practice: what to move first, when to use hybrid, what to replace.
Run a migration scenario and make the decisions under deadline pressure.
- Stage 71 step
Test yourself
Check what stuck: algorithms, parameter sets, deadlines and migration practice.
After this stage: You can answer the questions an auditor, a board or an interviewer will ask about your PQC programme.
- PQC Exam PracticePractice exam
Practice questions on post-quantum cryptography and migration.
TL;DRWhat this path is
4 points
- A learning path through PlayCISO's post-quantum pages in seven stages: understand, know your deadlines, inventory, assess, plan, practise and test yourself.
- Each stage explains in plain words why it comes where it does and links the guide, tool, template or lab that covers it.
- Tick each step when you have done it. Ticks stay in this browser only; nothing is sent to us.
- The copy follows NIST IR 8547 (final, October 2026) and Executive Order 14412, not the 2024 draft that many sites still quote.
Why this order
Deadlines come before the inventory because they tell you how fast you must go and which systems are in scope. The inventory comes before assessment because you cannot rank what you have not found. The plan comes after assessment so it starts with the systems that matter most: those holding data that must stay secret for years, which an attacker can record today and decrypt later.
Key establishment usually moves first, because recorded traffic is the exposure that already exists. Signatures are not exposed to "harvest now, decrypt later", but NIST IR 8547 calls their migration urgent too, because it takes longer and is more complex.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start a post-quantum migration?
Start with an inventory. You need to know where RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography are used before you can plan anything. OMB M-26-15 calls a continuously updated inventory of cryptographic assets the foundation of the migration plan, kept as a cryptographic bill of materials (CBOM). Then rank systems by how long their data must stay secret and how hard they are to change, and move key establishment first.
What does a PQC migration roadmap look like?
OMB M-26-15 gives US agencies five phases: strategy, planning and discovery (2026-2027); pilots and early migration (2027-2028); prioritised migration of key establishment (2028-2030); signature migration (2031); and full migration (2035). The UK NCSC uses three milestones: discovery and an initial plan by 2028, the highest-priority migrations by 2031, and everything by 2035. The EU roadmap targets high-risk use cases by the end of 2030.
What is crypto agility?
Crypto agility is the ability to change the algorithm, key size or protocol a system uses without rebuilding the system. An agile system keeps cryptography behind a configurable layer, knows where every algorithm is used, and can roll a change out and back. It matters now because the post-quantum move will not be the last algorithm change: NIST notes that hybrid schemes are usually temporary and lead to a second transition to PQC-only.
Which algorithms replace RSA and ECC?
NIST published three standards on 13 Aug 2024: ML-KEM (FIPS 203) for key establishment, and ML-DSA (FIPS 204) and SLH-DSA (FIPS 205) for signatures. NIST recommends ML-KEM-768 as the default parameter set. LMS and XMSS (SP 800-208) suit software and firmware signing. HQC was selected as a backup to ML-KEM; its standard is still being written.
When do RSA and ECC have to go?
Under NIST IR 8547 (final, October 2026), RSA, ECDSA, EdDSA, DH, ECDH and MQV are deprecated after 2030 and disallowed after 2035, at every strength. US federal high value assets and high impact systems have earlier dates under EO 14412: PQC key establishment by 31 Dec 2030 and signatures by 31 Dec 2031. The deadline calculator shows the dates for your sector.
Is the path a certification?
No. The path puts PlayCISO's PQC guides, tools, templates and labs in a sensible order, and your ticks are a personal checklist kept in your browser. It is practice, not an audit or a certificate.
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