Post-Quantum Cryptography PQC & PKI Migration For Beginners

What you'll learn

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Explain what a quantum computer is, why Shor's algorithm threatens RSA and ECC, and why the timeline is uncertain.
Explain Harvest Now, Decrypt Later and why data encrypted today is already at risk.
Name ML-KEM, ML-DSA, and SLH-DSA (FIPS 203, 204, 205) and state what each one replaces.
Spot red flags in vendor PQC marketing and tell FIPS-validated from FIPS-aligned.
Run a vendor conversation using five due-diligence questions and a one-page evaluation worksheet.
Know your next step into CBOM, crypto-agility, and PKI migration through the free Plain PQC companion course.
Requirements

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No prior cryptography or mathematics knowledge required
No programming experience required
Familiarity with basic cybersecurity concepts at the level of CompTIA Security+ or equivalent is recommended for the technical track
Business or procurement decision-making experience is sufficient for the non-technical track
Comfort reading technical English at a professional level
A general understanding that encryption protects data and that the internet uses certificates (HTTPS, the padlock in your browser); you do not need to know how these work, only that they exist
Access to a modern web browser (Chrome recommended for interactive exercises)
No special software, accounts, or paid tools required; all referenced tools and resources are free and open source
Description

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Quantum computers that can break RSA and ECC don't exist yet, and no one knows exactly when they will. But encrypted data can be collected today and decrypted later. That is why NIST finalized three post-quantum standards in 2024, and why governments have begun setting migration timelines.
This course is a plain-language starting point. No mathematics, programming, or prior cryptography knowledge is required.
What this version covers
- What a quantum computer actually is, and why Shor's algorithm threatens RSA and ECC
- Harvest Now, Decrypt Later, and why waiting is expensive
- The three NIST standards: ML-KEM (FIPS 203), ML-DSA (FIPS 204), and SLH-DSA (FIPS 205)
- How to read vendor PQC claims critically, including FIPS-validated vs FIPS-aligned
- A one-page vendor evaluation worksheet for real vendor conversations
What's coming
This is the video companion to the free Plain PQC course. Deeper topics are available now in the free course and will be added here as new lectures
- CBOM and crypto-agility
- PKI and hardware migration
- PKIMM self-assessment
Enrolled students get every new lecture at no extra cost.
This course is designed for three learners.
1. Security practitioners with a CompTIA Security+ baseline who need a clear path into PQC readiness.
2. Business and procurement decision-makers who need to ask better vendor questions and understand compliance timelines without a technical background.
3. IT professionals who have been handed a migration and need a concrete, sequenced plan.
A note on frameworks
The PKI Consortium's PQCMM is used here as a personal learning scaffold. Official PQCMM assesses products and services, not people.
Who this course is for

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Motivated learner | You are building from a first security cert or adjacent IT work toward PQC migration literacy. Security+ is one example of that baseline, not a required identity.
SMB decision-maker | You own budget and risk for a small or mid-size organization. You need plain-language stakes, vendor questions, and an honest picture of cost and timing.
IT professional / migration executor | You run certificates, TLS, VPN, or PKI operations. You need checklists, hybrid designs, and a year-by-year path you can actually carry out.
Homepage

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