Detection, Monitoring, and Response for the Migration
During a PQC migration, the security operations center faces new monitoring challenges. Systems run dual algorithms during transition. Downgrade attacks become a specific threat. The SOC needs visibility into which systems have migrated, which connections are using post-quantum algorithms, and whether anyone is attempting to force fallback to classical cryptography. This course covers detection, monitoring, and incident response for the migration period and beyond.
Who Should Take This Course
SOC analysts, detection engineers, SIEM administrators, and security operations leaders responsible for monitoring during and after PQC migration.
What You Will Learn
This course provides hands-on technical depth in a specific dimension of PQC migration, aligned with the PQC Migration Framework. You will gain practical, applicable skills you can use immediately in migration work.
Course Outline
Module 1 — Monitoring Cryptographic Transition
What the SOC needs to see during migration. Visibility into cryptographic protocol usage across the environment. Distinguishing migrated from unmigrated systems. Monitoring hybrid deployments. Building dashboards for migration status from a security operations perspective.
Module 2 — Downgrade Attack Detection
The specific threat of downgrade attacks during transition. How an attacker attempts to force classical-only connections. Detection signatures for downgrade attempts. Distinguishing legitimate fallback from malicious downgrade. SIEM rule design for cryptographic downgrade detection.
Module 3 — SIEM Integration and Detection Engineering
Integrating cryptographic monitoring into existing SIEM platforms. Log sources for cryptographic visibility. Detection rules for anomalous cryptographic behavior. Alerting thresholds and tuning to manage false positives during the noisy transition period.
Module 4 — Incident Response for Cryptographic Events
Incident playbooks for cryptographic security events. Responding to detected downgrade attacks. Handling suspected cryptographic compromise. The SOC’s role in migration verification. Post-migration monitoring for ongoing cryptographic health.
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.