ISARA Corp.,announced the launch of ISARA Catalyst Agile Digital Certificate Technology, a first-of-its-kind technology that allows organizations and manufacturers to secure their infrastructure and connected devices from the looming threat of an encryption-breaking quantum computer.
ISARA Catalyst enables quantum-safe authentication today by allowing for multiple cryptographic signature algorithms to be utilized in a single digital certificate – reducing redundancy and offering the agility to switch seamlessly from classical encryption to quantum-safe encryption as needs demand, without affecting compatibility with legacy systems or adherence to global standards. ISARA is targeting Catalyst for large enterprises, such as government agencies with complex public key infrastructures or corporations with an array of durable connected devices (IoT). Catalyst can help ensure, for example, that when a quantum computer capable of breaking encryption exists, autonomous vehicles and power grid systems remain absolutely certain that their communications are secure, and that the commands and software updates they receive are being sent by a trusted source.
As development of quantum computers accelerates, experts predict that it will be eight to 10 years before a quantum machine is capable of cracking current encryption – leading to increased awareness of the need to prepare now for the quantum threat, especially when security obligations are long-lived. For example, ISARA has partnered with DigiCert, the world’s leading provider of TLS certificates and PKI-based technology, to secure the
future of IoT using Catalyst technology as part of their solution. Also, ISARA partnered with Cisco Systems, one of the world’s largest networking manufacturers, to demonstrate the benefits of Catalyst technology using a public test server.
“Fortifying systems against the quantum threat will take many years, so the time to act is now,” said ISARA CEO and Co-founder Scott Totzke. “ISARA Catalyst minimizes disruption and allows for a seamless, cost-effective and simplified path to quantum-safe security that keeps existing systems safe today without sacrificing backward compatibility or adherence to standards. By including Catalyst in their products, certificate authorities and identity &
access management providers are giving their customers peace of mind and saving them the expense of rebuilding their entire infrastructure to be quantum-safe.”
ISARA Catalyst works as an optional extension to the widely used X.509 digital certificates, which are specified by the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), which coordinates global telecommunications standards. Providing cryptographic agility with Catalyst allows the makers of long-lived
connected devices to remain secure well into the Quantum Age.“By including Catalyst in our digital certificate product offering, DigiCert will offer our customers a solution that allows them to incorporate post-quantum security into their existing systems today, well ahead of the threat that quantum computing could pose to the IoT devices now in design or manufacturing,” says Deepika Chauhan,executive vice president of emerging markets at DigiCert. “DigiCert’s work with ISARA is helping ensure our customers stay ahead of the quantum computing curve with advanced, yet simplified, security measures that we can uniquely offer.”
The dawning age of quantum computing will require new methods of protecting data and communications.Quantum computers use quantum mechanics to process information differently than classical digital computers –allowing them to tackle significantly more complex calculations. A full-scale quantum computer is expected to be able to break current encryption protocols with relative ease.
