Introduction
Post-quantum migration starts with visibility. QSD maps the cryptographic mechanisms that protect data, identities, applications and machine-to-machine trust across your environment. The objective is not a theoretical inventory: it is a decision-grade view of where algorithms, keys, certificates, protocols, libraries and external dependencies create current or future quantum exposure.
2026 Market & Standards Context
In 2026, cryptographic discovery has moved from a specialist preparatory exercise to a practical prerequisite for migration governance. NIST’s updated crypto-agility guidance treats algorithm replacement as an operational capability spanning protocols, applications, software, hardware and firmware. At the same time, the EU’s coordinated PQC roadmap calls for Member States to begin transition by the end of 2026 and places particular urgency on critical infrastructure. For enterprises, that makes visibility into public-key cryptography, certificates, machine identities, code libraries, HSM dependencies and supplier-controlled trust services the starting point for credible investment decisions—not an optional technical inventory.
Why It Matters
- Cryptography is often distributed across PKI, TLS, VPN, IAM, HSMs, application code, APIs, databases, cloud services and supplier products.
- Legacy algorithms may remain hidden in firmware, embedded systems, certificate chains or third-party components long after teams believe they have been retired.
- Without asset ownership, data-lifetime and business-criticality context, a cryptographic inventory alone cannot support migration sequencing.
Our Approach
- Define discovery scope and critical business services.
- Identify cryptographic assets and dependencies across infrastructure, applications and suppliers.
- Enrich findings with ownership, data sensitivity, lifecycle and exposure context.
- Classify transition urgency and feed prioritised findings into the PQC roadmap and Q-TR governance layer.
What You Receive
- Cryptographic asset register
- Algorithm and protocol dependency map
- Certificate / PKI exposure view
- Business-service and supplier dependency mapping
- Prioritised quantum-risk backlog
- Executive summary with immediate remediation actions
Relevant Standards & Context
NIST FIPS 203/204/205 · NIST migration guidance · ISO/IEC 27001 · NIS2 · DORA · GDPR