Build Systems That Can Change Algorithms
The PQC migration will not be the last cryptographic transition. Cryptographic agility is the ability to change algorithms without major re-engineering. Systems built with it can go through the next transition at a manageable cost. But agility is widely claimed and rarely achieved. This course teaches the architecture patterns that deliver cryptographic agility and how to tell them from patterns that only appear agile. You also learn to test whether a system can switch algorithms under realistic conditions.
Course Outline
Module 1 What Cryptographic Agility Means
Defining cryptographic agility precisely. The difference between configurable and agile. Why most systems claimed to be agile are not. The cost of a lack of agility: why the current migration is so expensive. Agility as a design property versus a bolt-on feature.
Module 2 Agility Architecture Patterns
Architecture patterns that achieve agility. Abstraction layers for cryptographic operations. Algorithm negotiation at the protocol layer. Configuration-driven algorithm selection. Provider patterns and cryptographic service interfaces. Anti-patterns that defeat agility.
Module 3 Implementing Agility
Implementing agility at the application, protocol, and infrastructure layers. Retrofitting agility into existing systems. Key management for agile systems. Handling algorithm-specific differences (key sizes, signature sizes, performance) behind an agile interface.
Module 4 Testing, Standards, and Compliance
Testing cryptographic agility: verifying that a system can actually switch algorithms. Standards for cryptographic agility. Compliance frameworks that require agility. Building agility verification into ongoing assurance. The relationship between agility and future migration readiness.
Format and Delivery
This program is available online on-demand, live online, in person, and as private team training. Current prices for each format are in the booking section below. The course runs approximately four hours. Live online and in-person sessions include 180 days of access to the online on-demand course. Where that course is not yet published, the 180 days start on the day it is.
Corporate delivery – Custom in-person or online delivery for teams. Contact training@quantumacademy.com.
Prerequisites
A working understanding of PQC fundamentals is recommended. Consider Post-Quantum Foundation or PQCS certification for background.
Certificate of Completion
Upon completion, you receive a Quantum Academy certificate of completion. It is separate from our professional certifications and states your CPE credits, one for each 60 minutes of teaching. CISSP, SSCP, CISM and CompTIA SecurityX holders can claim them with their certifying body. The credits also count toward renewing a Quantum Academy certification. Our CPE credits page explains how to claim them.
Who this course is for
Security architects, principal engineers, and technical leads who will design the systems that have to keep working through the next algorithm change as well as this one. It suits anyone responsible for designing the target state.
If you need to carry out a migration now, PQC Migration: Executing the Waves is the more useful course.
What you’ll be able to do afterward
- Design a system in which you can make the next algorithm change through configuration alone
- Tell architecture patterns that achieve agility apart from patterns that only claim it
- Place abstraction layers for cryptographic operations at the protocol and application layers
- Build testing that proves an algorithm swap works before you need it to
- Write agility requirements into standards, procurement, and compliance obligations
What you leave with
When you finish, we email you the course handbook, a PDF of every slide with notes that explain it in full. We also include a PDF copy of Quantum Ready. The handbook is yours to keep.
Enrollment includes 180 days of access to the online on-demand course. Where that course is not yet published, the 180 days start on the day it is.
Where this course fits
Post-Quantum Foundation or PQCS Specialist Training provides the background for this course. You can take this course without either. Hybrid Cryptographic Implementations covers the implementation layer, and PQCA Architect Training leads to the credential.
Why we teach this
The course is built on the Applied Quantum PQC Migration Framework. Its author, Marin Ivezic, is one of the practitioners who teach here. The framework is published openly under Creative Commons at pqcframework.org. The people who teach this course run migration programs inside organizations today. The course covers the problems they meet in that work.
About this program
Quantum Academy credentials are private professional credentials issued by Quantum Academy, a trade name of Post-Quantum Institute. They are not government-issued licenses, accredited degrees, or academic credit, and earning one does not guarantee employment, promotion, regulatory approval, or any other specific outcome.
Quantum Academy programs are educational and informational only, and are not legal, compliance, or engineering advice.
