With advances in quantum computing, post-quantum cryptography is rapidly moving from a niche research topic to the core of long-term cybersecurity plans for governments and businesses.
Report overview and strategic background
new “Post-quantum cryptography” Market research announced today February 23, 2026 by ResearchAndMarkets.com In Dublin, we analyze how quantum-secure cryptography is reshaping digital trust architectures for the coming quantum era. It maps the transition from weak legacy encryption to resilient security across cloud, network, hardware, and identity ecosystems.
According to the report, post quantum cryptography is evolving from theoretical research to a key component of next-generation cybersecurity. Advances in quantum computing threaten the foundations of classical schemes such as: RSA Elliptic curve cryptography powers digital identities, secure communications, and long-term data protection around the world.
Additionally, the study warns that a “collect now, decrypt later” strategy is increasing the risk of data with a multi-decade lifecycle. As a result, governments, financial institutions, carriers, and cloud providers are accelerating the transition to quantum security to protect sensitive information, critical infrastructure, and long-lived trust systems.
Standards and regulations to facilitate a quantum-secure transition
Standardization-driven advances have now established the adoption of PQC. of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Approves lattice-based and hash-based algorithms. ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSAand falconestablishing a global baseline for quantum-resistant encryption and authentication across the industry.
these post quantum standard It enables software-based deployment on existing infrastructure, supports hybrid cryptographic modes that combine classical and quantum-secure schemes, and provides a practical migration path for enterprises. However, there are regulatory and policy mandates from agencies such as: N.S.A., ETSI,and IETF It is equally important to incorporate PQC into national security systems, communications frameworks, and core internet protocols.
That said, the report notes that organizations need to treat the transition to quantum safety as an ongoing feature rather than a one-time upgrade. Cryptographic agility has emerged as a key architectural principle, allowing systems to exchange algorithms as standards evolve and new vulnerabilities or performance constraints emerge.
PQC adoption momentum and major use cases
Adoption momentum will be strongest in sectors managing high-value data with long-term retention requirements. financial services, government, defenseand telecommunications is leading pilots and initial deployments to integrate quantum-secure cryptography into the system. TLS, VPNidentity systems, cloud key management, firmware signing, secure messaging platforms.
Cloud hyperscalers, browser vendors, hardware security module providers, and chip manufacturers are coming together to operationalize PQC across software stacks, protocols, and hardware trust anchors. Additionally, in an environment with the following constraints: IoTAutomotive and industrial systems are emerging as the preferred frontier for PQC-enabled hardware, device ID, and secure modules given their long lifetime in the field.
This report highlights that post-quantum cryptographic algorithms It is now appearing not only in testbeds but also in real environments. This transition marks a turning point from speculative preparation to measurable impact on production networks and applications.
From experiment to production deployment
PQC is decisively moving beyond laboratory validation and proof-of-concept testing. Live implementations secure quantum-secure email authentication, zero trust access, satellite communications, banking networks, and enterprise VPNs, providing operational standards-compliant protection across critical infrastructure.
Cloud key management services, certificate authorities, firmware and software signing workflows are also beginning to integrate quantum resilient primitives. However, adoption remains uneven due to performance overhead, traditional integration complexity, limited tools, lack of skills, and continued uncertainty surrounding the exact timeline for large-scale quantum computers.
That said, the report emphasizes that organizations cannot afford to wait for a final quantum timeline. Long-lived data, especially in finance, healthcare, and government, must be protected today to avoid future decryption if quantum attacks become viable.
Investment, innovation and market trends
Signals of investment and innovation indicate that the market is rapidly maturing. Trading activity increases through 2024 and maintained resilience 2025supported by venture funding, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships across cybersecurity vendors, quantum software companies, and crypto infrastructure providers.
Patent filings will peak in 2024, reflecting continued research and development in lattice-based schemes, secure networking, and cryptographic agility frameworks. Additionally, hiring trends show growing demand for quantum-proof security expertise across the cybersecurity, cloud, and semiconductor ecosystems, indicating that PQC skills are becoming a core requirement for modern security teams.
Research shows that this wave of investment is more than just defensive. Many companies see quantum safety security as a source of competitive differentiation, product innovation, and regulatory alignment, especially in highly regulated industries and critical national infrastructure.
Combining industry leaders and ecosystems
This report highlights efforts by a wide range of technology and finance leaders to incorporate PQC into commercial platforms. Companies that are attracting attention include: apple, AROBS Polska, bank for international settlements, BTQ Technologies, tracking, china telecom, cloudflare, european space agency,and European Telecommunications Standards Association.
Other notable participants are: google, honeywell, JP Morgan, microsoft, Nvidia, nokia, Numana, NXP Semiconductors, OpenSSL, orange business, Sealsuk, signal, singtel, smart banner hub, ST Engineering, terrace, Thalesand Toshiba. They illustrate how cloud providers, carriers, chip manufacturers, and crypto specialist companies are converging around common standards.
Additionally, these companies are helping the market transition from brittle RSA and elliptic curve systems to resilient, standards-compliant foundations across software, protocols, and hardware. The company’s commercial platforms are increasingly expected to offer quantum-safe options as the default for new deployments.
Sector-specific adoption and innovation trajectories
This study focuses on industries with long-lived data and infrastructure and explores sector-specific paths toward PQC deployment. Financial services, government, defense, and communications are currently leading the way in early adoption of secure communications, transaction processing, and identity management systems, among others.
At the same time, automotive, aerospace, industrial systems, and IoT are being identified as key growth areas for PQC-enabled hardware, device ID, and secure communications. However, the compute and connectivity constraints in these environments pose design challenges and require careful optimization of algorithm selection, key size, and protocol overhead.
That said, the report views these constraints as opportunities for innovation, particularly around lightweight implementation, hardware acceleration, and flexible key management tailored for embedded systems and edge devices.
Barriers, enablers and strategic perspectives
This analysis details several barriers to large-scale PQC deployments, including performance overhead, complex integration with legacy systems, limited interoperability tools, and severe skills shortages. These hurdles have slowed uniform adoption, especially for smaller organizations and highly customized infrastructures.
However, the report also identifies strong enablers for scale, including regulatory mandates, finalization of standards, cloud and platform readiness, and increased awareness of the risks of harvesting now and decrypting later. Long-term data protection requirements across industries will further increase the urgency of moving to quantum-safe architectures in the coming years.
This study concludes that within the strategic landscape, PQC is moving from a theoretical necessity to a foundational security infrastructure. As quantum capabilities mature, we argue that crypto-agile, standards-driven design will underpin digital trust across clouds, networks, devices, and data ecosystems.
Guidance for decision makers
This report provides strategic recommendations to help CISOs, security architects, technology leaders, policymakers, and investors plan their response. Urges organizations to design structured migration strategies, prioritize high-risk systems and long-lifecycle assets, and align security architectures with evolving standards and regulatory expectations.
Additionally, decision makers are encouraged to treat PQC as part of a broader modernization of identity, key management, and network security, rather than as a standalone upgrade. This integrated approach supports better risk management and allows enterprises to benefit from innovations in zero trust models and secure cloud infrastructure.
As quantum-secure cryptography becomes central to secure communications, digital identity, cloud infrastructure, and critical systems, the Innovation Radar Report provides the strategic intelligence you need to navigate the rapidly maturing landscape and maintain digital trust in the quantum era.
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Overall, this report paints a picture of a security ecosystem in transition, where post-quantum technologies are moving from early experimentation to large-scale adoption as organizations race for future-proof digital trust against quantum-era threats.
