Post-Quantum Readiness Hands-on Workshop

About this workshop

A two-day, English-language workshop for professionals who need to turn post-quantum risk into practical engineering decisions. Four modules build from applied cryptography and the quantum threat to post-quantum constructions and real-world protocols. Concepts are paired with guided tests, architecture reviews and reusable templates. Work through a sample stack, inspect its cryptographic dependencies, compare implementations, and prepare a migration plan that accounts for interoperability and operational constraints. Exercises use controlled environments rather than production systems. The program is designed for security engineers, IT architects, developers, CTOs, founders and technical risk teams. You do not need to be a cryptographer; familiarity with software systems, networking and a command line will help you participate in the hands-on sessions. Exact daily hours and the software setup instructions will be confirmed before the event.

Who this is for

• Security engineers and IT architects
• Compliance and risk professionals
• CTOs, CISOs, and founders in fintech and healthtech

What you will take away

• Create a 1–2 page quantum-risk checklist for a sample stack and adapt it to your organization.
• Identify cryptographic dependencies and separate confidentiality exposure from authentication and signature risks.
• Run guided KEM, signature and TLS experiments, and explain the limits of the measurements.
• Compare post-quantum algorithm families, implementation tradeoffs and vendor claims.
• Build a staged migration playbook covering inventory, hybrid pilots, interoperability and cryptographic agility.

Before you attend

• Bring a laptop on which you can run a local test environment and install the workshop tools.
• Basic familiarity with networking, software systems and command-line tools is recommended; advanced mathematics is not required.
• Use sample configurations or sanitized architecture notes. Do not bring production secrets, credentials or sensitive customer data.
• The detailed installation list and setup instructions will be confirmed before the workshop.

Program

1. Day 1 · Module 1Time pending

   Foundations of Applied Cryptography

   Build a working model of symmetric-key and public-key cryptography, separating confidentiality, integrity and authentication. Follow key exchange and Key Encapsulation Mechanisms (KEMs), then connect them to TLS and the hybrid post-quantum handshake. Introduce the NIST standardization process, ML-KEM and ML-DSA before studying them in depth on day two.

   Explore side-channel attacks, constant-time implementations and the role of open-source cryptographic libraries. Distinguish an algorithm from its implementation and the protocol that uses it.

   Practical work: inspect a certificate chain and a TLS connection in a controlled environment; identify the key exchange and signature algorithms; compare a classical connection with a supported hybrid configuration. Record what the test proves and what remains outside its scope.

   Takeaway: a first cryptographic inventory showing the algorithms, protocols, libraries and dependencies in a sample stack.

2. Day 1 · Module 2Time pending

   Demystifying the Quantum Threat

   Understand what Shor’s and Grover’s algorithms change, what they do not change, and why a quantum computer is not simply a faster classical machine. Separate post-quantum cryptography from quantum cryptography and quantum key distribution. Read security parameters and NIST security levels without treating them as interchangeable guarantees.

   Examine harvest-now, decrypt-later exposure for confidential data, and distinguish it from the separate risk of future signature forgery. Compare data lifetimes, migration lead times and uncertain quantum timelines. Consider the operational cost of larger keys, ciphertexts and signatures, alongside mathematical problems believed to remain hard for quantum computers.

   Practical work: classify sample services by confidentiality and authentication exposure; build risk-register entries; rank migration priorities using data sensitivity, retention periods and dependency constraints.

   Takeaway: a 1–2 page quantum-risk checklist and an initial list of systems to investigate or migrate first.

3. Day 2 · Module 3Time pending

   Understanding Post-Quantum Cryptography

   Explore lattice-based hardness assumptions, ring and module lattices, and how they lead to encryption schemes and ML-KEM. Compare lattice-signature approaches, including hash-and-sign and rejection sampling through Falcon and ML-DSA. Introduce code-based cryptography through McEliece and HQC, and examine the standardization path rather than assuming every candidate has the same deployment status.

   Learn how to read guidance from NIST, BSI and ANSSI and translate it into questions about algorithm selection, interoperability, implementation assurance and cryptographic agility.

   Practical work: use established libraries to run KEM encapsulation/decapsulation and signature generation/verification in a local test environment. Compare key, ciphertext and signature sizes and basic runtime measurements. Discuss why a small benchmark is not a security audit or a production-readiness guarantee.

   Takeaway: an algorithm comparison sheet and vendor questions covering supported standards, hybrid modes, implementation review, performance constraints and upgrade paths.

4. Day 2 · Module 4Time pending

   Real-World Protocols

   Study the difficulties of deploying advanced cryptography at scale. Distinguish forward secrecy from post-compromise security, and examine secure messaging through the Signal protocol, post-quantum handshakes and Messaging Layer Security (MLS). Compare the protection of data in transit with data at rest through a cloud-storage case study.

   Connect protocol choices to certificate lifecycles, key management, library dependencies and interoperability. Explore hybrid deployment and the ability to change algorithms without rebuilding the entire system.

   Practical work: review a messaging or cloud-storage architecture, identify where encryption and authentication terminate, and develop a staged migration plan. Define pilot scope, compatibility checks, operational ownership, rollback conditions and the evidence required before a wider rollout.

   Takeaway: a migration playbook combining inventory, prioritized risks, hybrid testing, vendor evaluation and the next actions for your team.

Meet your speakers

David Balbás

David holds a PhD in cryptography and is a postdoctoral researcher at a prestigious university. His work covers cryptographic protocols, privacy-preserving systems, and secure messaging.

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Leon Acosta

Founder of QuantaKrypto, Leon brings a background in infrastructure, cybersecurity, and blockchain. His work connects cryptographic decisions to production systems, security reviews, and post-quantum migration.

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Included

• Two-day hands-on workshop delivered in English
• Guided exercises and reusable test templates

Resources

Your event materials will include:

• Workshop slide deck
• Four-module practical workbook with guided exercises
• Local cryptography lab, editable risk templates, migration decision tree, vendor questionnaire and glossary