Post-quantum cryptography (PQC), sometimes referred to as quantum-proof, quantum-safe or quantum-resistant, is the development of cryptographic algorithms (usually public-key algorithms) that are thought to be secure against a cryptanalytic attack by a quantum computer. The problem with popular algorithms currently used in the market is that their security relies on one of three hard mathematical problems: the integer factorization problem, the discrete logarithm problem or the elliptic-curve discrete logarithm problem. All of these problems could be easily solved on a sufficiently powerful quantum computer running Shor's algorithm[1][2] or even faster and less demanding (in terms of number of qubits required) alternatives.
