Quantum Threats & Post-Quantum Identity
How Hawcx prepares for post-quantum security challenges
Modern cryptography is designed to be secure against today's computational capabilities, but quantum computing introduces new risks. "Harvest now, decrypt later" attacks are already a theoretical concern: adversaries can collect encrypted data today with the expectation of decrypting it once sufficiently powerful quantum computers are available. This is especially relevant for authentication systems that rely on long-lived public keys, such as passkeys or traditional PKI-based credentials.
The Challenge for Public-Key Systems
Public-key systems face a dual challenge. Even though the keys themselves do not directly reveal secrets, they are still stored, transmitted, and reused across sessions. A quantum adversary could potentially reconstruct private secrets from these public keys once quantum algorithms reach maturity. As a result, credentials that appear secure today could be compromised in the future.
Post-Quantum Identity Solutions
Post-quantum identity solutions aim to mitigate these risks by integrating cryptography resistant to quantum attacks. Symmetric encryption, for example, is inherently more resilient to quantum computing. By relying on per-device symmetric keys and ephemeral proofs, modern systems can maintain security even under post-quantum scenarios.
How Hawcx Incorporates Post-Quantum Principles
Hawcx incorporates these principles into its architecture. Device-bound authentication, combined with short-lived zero-knowledge proofs, ensures that sensitive data is never stored in a way that exposes it to quantum decryption. Even if a device is compromised, the proofs are single-use and cannot be reused across sessions or devices.
Long-Term Security Without Complexity
In practice, this approach allows enterprises and developers to plan for long-term security without forcing users to adopt complex key management strategies. Hawcx provides a quantum-resilient identity model today, minimizing risk from future technological developments.
Post-quantum threats are no longer theoretical for long-lived credentials. By using per-device proofs and quantum-resistant cryptography, Hawcx provides authentication that remains secure against evolving computational capabilities.