News in Brief

EU Project for Post-Quantum Cryptography Protocols

The PQC4eMRTD (Post-Quantum Cryptography for electronic MachineReadable Travel Documents) project is a European initiative launched on 28 February, aimed at enhancing the security of electronic machine-readable travel documents (eMRTDs), such as electronic passports, against emerging threats posed by advances in quantum computing.

Quantum computing is progressing rapidly, with the number of quantum bits (qubits) housed in a circuit expected to increase tenfold by 2026 compared to the approximately 400 qubits achieved by the end of 2022. This significant growth in processing power threatens classical cryptographic systems, necessitating the development and adoption of quantumresistant (QR) cryptographic protocols.