Knowledge Base
A better foundation for trust
Modern networks depend on public-key cryptography (PKC) to secure everything from financial transactions to military communications. But these methods are built on mathematical problems that are increasingly vulnerable — not only to today’s attackers, but to tomorrow’s quantum computers.
“When it becomes available, a [quantum computer] could jeopardize civilian and military communications, undermine supervisory and control systems for critical infrastructure, and defeat security protocols for most Internet-based financial transactions.” — White House National Security Memorandum 10 (NSM-10)
TL;DR
Crux uses symmetric keys because they’re secure today and resilient tomorrow. With Arqit's SKA-Platform™ (SKA-P), we gain scalable trust, rapid key rotation, and a quantum-safe foundation without the operational drag of certificate management or the cryptographic uncertainty of PQAs in live traffic.
The risk isn’t tomorrow — it’s right now
Even before large-scale quantum computers arrive, attackers are already capturing and storing encrypted data — planning to decrypt it later. This “harvest now, decrypt later” strategy puts sensitive, long-lived information at risk today, including:
- State secrets and diplomatic communications
- Personal health, genomic, and biometric data
- Intellectual property and trade secrets
- Financial systems and private transactions
The threat is growing as endpoints multiply, data flows increase, and adversaries invest heavily in AI, machine learning, and quantum R&D. As this attack surface expands, waiting for a mature post-quantum solution isn’t just risky — it’s unacceptable.
Crux is built on the belief that trust shouldn’t be a gamble.
At the heart of every Crux deployment lies a different kind of cryptographic foundation: symmetric keys, generated and managed through Arqit’s SKA-Platform™ (SKA-P).
This isn’t just a technical preference. It’s a strategic choice — built for a world where classical cryptography is running out of time.