Trusting the Unseen: PQC for Digital Signatures and Authentication ✍️

• Digital signatures are fundamental for verifying identity, authenticating software, and ensuring data integrity. 
• In this session, we'll focus on the application of the new NIST-standardized PQC digital signature algorithms, ML-DSA and SLH-DSA. 
• Unlike key exchange, the vulnerability of signatures has long-term implications for our Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and the trust chain of our software. 
• We'll walk through a conceptual code-signing example, demonstrating how to use ML-DSA to create a quantum-safe digital fingerprint for your software. 
• We will also discuss the significant challenges of migrating a large-scale PKI to PQC, from certificate authorities to revocation lists.

Key Themes:

• Digital Signatures 🖋️
• PKI 🏗️
• Code Signing 👨‍💻
• Authentication ✅
• Data Integrity integrity

Recommended background:

A clear understanding of the difference between key exchange and digital signatures is essential. Familiarity with the basics of how a PKI operates will be beneficial.

Recommended Resources:

• NIST's PQC Standards: Explore the official NIST publications for ML-DSA (FIPS 204) and SLH-DSA (FIPS 205) to understand the technical specifications of the new algorithms.
• PQC Migration Guides: Read guides from organizations like CISA, NSA, and NIST that outline best practices for transitioning enterprise PKI and cryptographic systems to be quantum-safe.
• "The Future of Digital Signatures in a Post-Quantum World": An article from Postquantum that provides a detailed overview of the quantum threat to digital signatures and the solutions being developed.
• "How to Secure Identity in the Era of Post Quantum Cryptography": A blog post from Thales that provides a practical example of a hybrid cryptographic approach for identity documents.
• Open Quantum Safe (OQS) Project: A valuable resource for developers, this project provides open-source implementations of post-quantum cryptography algorithms, which can be used for testing and experimentation.

What is AI Quantum Clubs?

• Building upon the foundations of our AI Study Jams and AI Math Clubs, the AI Quantum Clubs campaign is designed to explore the crucial and rapidly evolving world of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC).
• This initiative focuses on equipping developers and enthusiasts with the knowledge to understand and address the looming quantum threat to our digital security. We will provide a clear, intuitive path to learning about new quantum-resistant algorithms and how to implement them in a way that future-proofs our code and infrastructure.