NIST IR 8547 sets the PQC transition clock: deprecate quantum-vulnerable public-key crypto after 2030, disallow after 2035; federal high-value systems must move key establishment by end of 2030
NIST's IR 8547 ("Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards", October 2026) is the migration roadmap that sits on top of the August 2024 PQC standards. Core schedule language:
- NIST will deprecate quantum-vulnerable public-key algorithms (RSA, ECDSA, EdDSA and peers at stated strengths) after 2030 and disallow them under NIST standards and guidelines after 2035.
- EO 14412 and OMB M-26-15 already push federal agencies to mitigate as much quantum risk as feasible by Dec 31, 2030, with high-value / high-impact systems adopting PQC for key establishment by Dec 31, 2030 and digital signatures by Dec 31, 2031, and TLS 1.3 support by Jan 2, 2030.
The report stresses harvest-now-decrypt-later risk for long-lived data. Vendors and anyone selling into government should treat crypto inventories, hybrid TLS/KEM plans and HSM roadmaps as near-term program work, not a 2035 problem.
Sources: NIST IR 8547: Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards (October 2026) · NIST IR 8547 PDF · Help Net Security: NIST starts the countdown to retire quantum-vulnerable encryption (Oct 28)