France to stop certifying products without quantum-safe encryption

By Leo Marchandon

PARIS, June 16 (Reuters) - ‌France's cybersecurity ​agency ANSSI ​said on Tuesday it would stop certifying security products that lack quantum-resistant encryption, a move that will force government bodies and ‌critical operators to shift away from older systems.

Samih Souissi, ANSSI's chief ⁠of staff, said at the France Quantum conference that the agency would halt such certifications from ‌2027, and that businesses should ‌be buying only quantum-safe products by 2030.

ANSSI approval is required for use in French government agencies and critical infrastructure, making the policy a de facto ​phase-out of older encryption.

"It's not only a technical issue," Souissi said. "It's a matter of governance, industrial planning, regulation, and sovereignty."

The move reflects concern that ⁠attackers may store encrypted data now and unlock it later when quantum computers become strong enough to ​crack today's protections, a risk known as "harvest now, decrypt later."

"VERY SUBSTANTIAL" MARKET

The shift is already pushing companies to adapt.

Pascal Brier, chief ​innovation officer at Capgemini, said demand was ‌growing as banks and public services assess what must change. "That market is becoming big. It's going to be very substantial," he ⁠told Reuters.

France is backing quantum technology with a 3 billion euro ($3.5 billion) plan, while the European Union trails China in patent share despite hosting many quantum companies.

IBM executive ⁠Jerry Chow said at the event that the threat could emerge by the mid-2030s, while Qperfect ​warned that Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm, or ECDSA, a standard used in blockchain, could be among the first systems broken.

Fanny Bouton, head of quantum at OVHcloud, told Reuters ‌the industry faces a dual compliance burden. "We face two challenges: auditing our products and securing all the data we hold ‌in order to meet ANSSI's requirements," she said.

"As a French and European player, we ⁠face even more constraints, as ‌we will need to align ​with all these standards," she said, referring to ANSSI, the EU Commission and U.S. NIST requirements.

(Reporting by Leo Marchandon; Editing by ‌Matt Scuffham)

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