On February 11, 2026, Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) did something unprecedented: it named a concrete expiry date for classical encryption. With that, post-quantum cryptography moves from an academic future topic into the hands-on planning of every company. Anyone procuring IT today, signing contracts for cloud services or storing sensitive customer data is making decisions whose security reaches well into the 2030s.
To small and medium-sized enterprises, this may at first sound like a problem for corporations and public authorities. The opposite is true. SMEs in particular rarely have a complete inventory of their cryptographic methods - and it is exactly this inventory that is the first and most important step. According to the BSI, over 90 percent of German mid-sized companies are not yet prepared for the transition. This article soberly explains what is behind the development and which steps are worth taking now.
Why post-quantum cryptography is becoming relevant now
Quantum computers work fundamentally differently from classical machines. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer could use the so-called Shor algorithm to solve the mathematical problems that today's methods such as RSA and elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) are based on. These methods secure practically every encrypted connection - from websites to VPNs to email signatures.
No quantum computer capable of doing this in practice exists yet. But progress is clearly visible in 2026: providers such as Quantinuum, Atom Computing and IonQ have presented milestones in error-corrected, logical qubits in recent months. A Cloud Security Alliance survey shows that 40 percent of the security leaders surveyed expect a cryptographically relevant quantum computer before 2030. Post-quantum cryptography, by contrast, relies on new mathematical problems that even quantum computers cannot solve efficiently.
Harvest now, decrypt later: the underestimated danger
Many decision-makers think: as long as no quantum computer exists, my current encryption is secure. That is true for tomorrow's confidentiality - but not for data with a long protection lifespan. Attackers, including state-backed actors, are already intercepting encrypted traffic today and storing it. As soon as a powerful quantum computer becomes available, the collected trove will be decrypted. This approach is called harvest now, decrypt later.
Which data does this concern? A simple rule of thumb: anything that will still be worth protecting in ten years is already at risk today. This typically includes:
- Patents, engineering data and trade secrets
- Patient, HR and health data
- Contracts, financial data and long-term customer relationships
- Digital signatures and identities with long validity
The BSI deadlines in plain terms
The BSI has updated its recommendations in Technical Guideline TR-02102 - the central reference for cryptographic methods in Germany. It consists of several parts, ranging from fundamental algorithm recommendations to Transport Layer Security (TLS) and the VPN protocols IPsec and IKEv2, through to guidance on the secure use of SSH. These are exactly the protocols embedded in almost every company's IT, often without anyone being aware of it.
The key messages are easy to remember: for particularly sensitive applications, RSA and ECC should no longer be used on their own from the end of 2030, and in general from the end of 2031. For classical signature schemes, the end of standalone use is planned for the end of 2035. Until then, the BSI recommends hybrid usage - classical and quantum-safe methods are combined so that the connection remains secure even if one of the two methods turns out to be vulnerable.
The internationally standardized foundation comes from the US institute NIST with three finalized schemes: ML-KEM for key exchange, ML-DSA for digital signatures and SLH-DSA as a hash-based alternative. These algorithms are already integrated into modern browsers, operating systems and VPN solutions. So SMEs do not have to develop anything themselves - they need to use the existing building blocks correctly and keep them up to date. It is important to understand: this is not a legal ban yet. It is a strong recommendation by the BSI with a clear time horizon - one that takes on a de facto binding character in regulated industries such as finance, healthcare and critical infrastructure.
Crypto-agility as the key concept
The most important technical term is crypto-agility. It means that IT systems are built so that cryptographic methods can be swapped out without redeveloping the entire application. Anyone procuring software and hardware today should therefore pay close attention to exactly this point: Can algorithms be switched via update? Does the vendor already have the NIST schemes on its roadmap?
The practical value of crypto-agility shows itself precisely when a method has to be replaced unexpectedly - for instance because a vulnerability becomes known. Companies whose systems have cryptographic building blocks hard-wired then face expensive emergency projects. Those who rely on interchangeable components from the start, on the other hand, ideally switch the method via configuration or update. This property should therefore become a fixed criterion in every tender and every requirements specification.
A realistic look at the effort helps put the topic in perspective: experts estimate that a complete migration takes large organizations five to fifteen years, and the inventory alone can take twelve to twenty-four months in larger operations. SMEs have a clear advantage here: their IT landscape is more manageable, the paths are shorter, decisions are made faster. What is a mammoth project for a corporation can often be handled in a few structured steps in a mid-sized company.
Concrete first steps for your company
- Crypto inventory: Record where encryption is used in your IT - websites, VPN, email, backups, file storage.
- Prioritize risk: Which data has a long protection lifespan and is therefore affected first?
- Adjust procurement: Check every new system with a lifespan of five years or more for PQC capability before signing the contract.
- Ask your vendors: Get the PQC roadmap of your software and cloud providers in writing.
Conclusion
The transition to quantum-safe methods is not a sprint but a multi-year project - realistically, experts speak of five to fifteen years until full migration. That is exactly why starting now is decisive. Anyone who begins the crypto inventory in 2026 and consistently factors procurement and crypto-agility into their thinking will be comfortably ahead of the BSI deadlines instead of having to act under pressure in 2030.
Not sure where encryption is used across your IT? That is exactly where we come in. Cryon supports SMEs in and around Leipzig from the first crypto inventory through risk assessment to step-by-step migration - hands-on, understandable and without unnecessary overhead. Talk to us before your data becomes tomorrow's loot.
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