Adversaries Are Storing Your Encrypted Data Now, Betting on Future Quantum Decryption

A strategy known as 'harvest now, decrypt later' involves nation-states and sophisticated threat actors collecting and storing encrypted data today, anticipating that future quantum computers will be able to break current encryption standards. Algorithms like RSA and elliptic curve cryptography remain secure against classical computers but could be cracked in hours by a sufficiently powerful quantum machine running Shor's algorithm. The U.S. National Security Agency has already warned that foreign intelligence services are actively harvesting encrypted data for future decryption. In response, NIST concluded its post-quantum cryptography standardization process in 2022, selecting four algorithms — ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA, and Falcon — designed to resist both classical and quantum attacks. Security experts warn that organizations handling sensitive long-lived data must begin auditing their cryptographic infrastructure and planning migration to post-quantum standards now, rather than waiting for quantum computing to mature.