Q-Day Survival Guide: What the Post-quantum Cryptography Transition Means ... - A.Savage, Red Hat

Q-Day Survival Guide: What the Post-quantum Cryptography Transition Means for Confidential Computing - Arthur Savage, Red Hat Cryptographic algorithms will one day be broken by large quantum computers, necessitating the replacement of classical cryptography (like RSA) with post-quantum cryptography (PQC). This event, called Q-day, is a rolling deadline with previous estimates falling around 2035. However, in early 2026, many groundbreaking developments rapidly shortened Q-day estimates to 2030 or sooner, leaving little time to execute this unprecedented global cryptographic overhaul. This talk will put Q-day in context for the audience: timelines, the recent scientific breakthroughs and how they alter threat models in open source, and which gaps and blockers are most pressing. Then, we view these blockers through the lens of confidential computing, from hardware to software. We will discuss current risks and best practices, then open the audience to discussion of the needs of diverse applications across the confidential computing ecosystem. This talk is both informative and information-gathering, fostering mutual understanding and collaboration to integrate PQC before time runs out. This talk will be technical, but no prior knowledge about PQC is necessary and we welcome participation from all.