Forward Edge-AI unveils 12-month post-quantum roadmap

Forward Edge-AI has published a Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) Implementation Playbook outlining a structured 12-month roadmap for organisations planning to migrate away from traditional public-key encryption.

The document targets government agencies, defence ministries, critical infrastructure operators, financial institutions and multinational enterprises. It presents the roadmap as a response to regulators shifting from research and planning towards mandated migration programmes.

Post-quantum cryptography refers to algorithms designed to resist attacks from quantum computers. Many widely used methods today rely on mathematical problems that could become solvable for sufficiently capable quantum systems. Organisations running long-lived systems, or handling data that must remain confidential for years, are assessing when and how to replace existing schemes.

Regulatory pressure

European regulatory frameworks are highlighted as a driver for formal migration timelines. The EU's NIS2 cyber security directive and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) set compliance expectations for a wide range of entities, including operators of essential services and regulated financial firms.

Forward Edge-AI expects enforcement timelines to begin in 2026, with penalties for non-compliance. This has increased interest in migration plans that can be audited and mapped to governance and risk controls.

The playbook uses a phased model, starting with governance and planning and moving through technical discovery and validation before reaching production deployment and ongoing assurance. This reflects a broader shift towards inventory-based crypto migration, where organisations first identify what cryptography they use and where it is deployed before attempting to swap algorithms.

Seven phases

The playbook is organised into seven phases. The first covers governance and strategic planning, including oversight structures and alignment with internal or national digital trust policies.

The second focuses on a cryptographic asset inventory, mapping dependencies on RSA, elliptic curve cryptography and older approaches across critical systems. For large institutions, this can include bespoke applications, embedded devices and third-party services, where cryptography is implemented in different ways and updated on different cycles.

The third phase covers proof-of-concept work in controlled environments to validate integration, performance and uptime before changes reach operational systems. It references the company's Isidore Quantum? product, while noting that comparable programmes could be used.

The fourth phase emphasises orchestration, including "AI-driven fleet management" for processes such as key generation, rekeying and zeroisation. This is positioned as an operational layer alongside the cryptographic transition work.

The fifth phase focuses on workforce training and capability building, including certification on PQC operations, AI-assisted management and compliance tracking. The sixth moves into full production deployment, transitioning prioritised infrastructure to what the company describes as quantum-safe cryptographic states.

The final phase covers continuous monitoring and readiness auditing, including ongoing monitoring, quarterly assessments and compliance reporting once systems are in production.

Benchmarks and assurance

According to Forward Edge-AI, the playbook aligns its implementation stages with the Quantum Readiness Index domains and CSA 2025 standards. Such frameworks can help translate technical work into measurable progress for boards, regulators and audit teams.

Migration programmes often face practical constraints. Organisations must maintain compatibility with customers, suppliers and external systems, while coordinating upgrades across hardware, firmware, operating systems and applications. In some environments, cryptographic changes require lengthy testing and certification cycles.

The roadmap places governance and discovery early in the process, reflecting a common challenge in crypto migration. Many organisations struggle to identify cryptographic usage across complex estates, including hard-coded algorithms, legacy protocols and vendor products with limited visibility into their cryptographic components.

Eric Adolphe, Founder and CEO of Forward Edge-AI, said the roadmap reflects a shift in expectations around PQC adoption.

"The transition to post-quantum security is no longer a research initiative. It is an implementation requirement," said Eric Adolphe, Founder and CEO of Forward Edge-AI. "The Global PQC Implementation Playbook provides a disciplined path from governance to operational deployment, ensuring organizations can move from policy compliance to measurable resilience."

Forward Edge-AI sells AI-driven cyber security products and post-quantum technologies, including the Isidore Quantum platform for defence and enterprise environments. The company expects PQC-related regulatory and procurement requirements to tighten as enforcement timelines approach.