Find every place you use cryptography
You cannot migrate what you cannot see. Every PQC migration begins with discovery: finding every place cryptography is used across application code, TLS and SSH configurations, certificate stores, key management systems, databases, file systems, hardware security modules, and third-party services. The output is a Cryptographic Bill of Materials (CBOM), a complete, prioritized inventory that drives every subsequent migration decision.
This course teaches discovery methodology in depth: the tools that automate parts of the process, the manual techniques for the parts that cannot be automated, and the risk-weighted scoring model that turns a raw inventory into a migration sequence.
Course Outline
Module 1. Discovery Methodology
A structured approach to finding cryptography across the enterprise. Source code scanning for cryptographic API calls. Network scanning for TLS/SSH endpoints and their cipher suites. Certificate discovery across internal and external PKI. Configuration analysis for IPsec, S/MIME, and application-layer encryption. The discovery challenge in legacy systems, embedded devices, and third-party services.
Module 2. Tooling and Automation
The tools that automate cryptographic discovery and their limitations. CBOM generation tools and standardized formats (CycloneDX cryptography extensions). Integrating discovery into CI/CD pipelines. Where automation works well and where manual analysis remains necessary. Building a repeatable discovery process rather than a one-time scan.
Module 3. Building the CBOM
Structuring a Cryptographic Bill of Materials. What to capture for each cryptographic asset: algorithm, key length, purpose, location, dependencies, and ownership. Mapping cryptographic assets to business systems and data flows. Handling the third-party dependency problem: cryptography you depend on but do not control.
Module 4. Prioritization and Scoring
Turning the inventory into a migration sequence. Risk-weighted scoring: quantum vulnerability, data sensitivity, exposure window, business criticality, and migration complexity. The HNDL lens: which assets protect data with long confidentiality requirements. Building a prioritized migration roadmap from the scored CBOM.
Prerequisites
A working understanding of PQC fundamentals is recommended. Consider Post-Quantum Foundation or PQCS certification for background. Some courses assume security engineering experience.
Certificate of Completion
Upon completion, you will receive a Quantum Academy certificate of completion. CPE credits earned may apply toward Quantum Academy certification maintenance.
Who this course is for
Security engineers, security architects, IT asset management professionals, and anyone tasked with leading or conducting cryptographic discovery for PQC migration.
What you’ll be able to do afterward
- Conduct systematic cryptographic discovery using automated scanning, manual assessment, vendor interrogation, and code analysis
- Build a Cryptographic Bill of Materials (CBOM) using the established data model
- Integrate cryptographic discovery with software composition analysis (SCA) and SBOM processes
- Select and configure discovery tooling for different environment types
- Maintain a living cryptographic inventory as systems change
- Avoid the common failure mode where discovery becomes a perpetual activity that never produces actionable results
What you leave with
You leave with the course handbook, a PDF of the full material with the instructor notes written out in place of the slides’ bullet points, and a PDF copy of Quantum Ready, included at no extra cost. The handbook is yours to keep. For most organizations, that shared reference is the clearest return on a training budget.
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 give the grounding this course builds on. Neither is enforced. PQC Migration: Executing the Waves is what discovery feeds. PQC Migration Project Management for whoever will run it.
Why we teach this
The course is built on the Applied Quantum PQC Migration Framework, published openly under Creative Commons at pqcframework.org and written by the practitioners who teach here. The people who teach this course are running migration programs inside organizations now, and the course covers what those programs hit.
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.