“Agility” has been quite a buzzword recently. You will likely find it on most companies’ 5-year plan slide decks. Yet, there is one area where the ability to adapt quickly and efficiently makes a lot of sense -cryptography. In an age where the methods employed by cyber attackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and the specter of quantum computing looms, the importance of encryption cannot be overstated. This has led to the rise of a concept enabled by technical capabilities, known as “crypto-agility,” or the ability to quickly adapt to an alternative cryptographic standard without making significant infrastructure changes.
Embracing Crypto-Agility
With advancements in encryption come new challenges. As encryption methods evolve, older algorithms may become susceptible to attacks. Crypto-agility, therefore, has emerged as the antidote to this vulnerability. At its core, crypto-agility empowers organizations to transition seamlessly between encryption techniques. Rather than relying solely on one method, crypto-agility advocates for strategic flexibility, allowing the swift adoption of newer, more secure crypto libraries. However, large organizations can have hundreds or thousands of keys, digital certificates, encryption, and other cryptographic assets that can expire or suddenly break. Most security teams are unaware of the types of encryptions they use, let alone which applications use them. They implicitly trust that embedded cryptographic systems will protect their networks. This strategy has proven to fail as the headlines pile up. It is time to extend zero-trust principles into the cryptographic ecosystem to know if the most fundamental layer of protection and confidentiality can fulfill its purpose when called upon. The first step to address these risks is to discover where the current cryptographic assets reside and assess their ability to withstand decryption attempts. Cryptographic discovery tools have been developed to create ..
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