WASHINGTON, DC, February 25, 2025 -- ATIS today announces publication of Preparing 5G for the Quantum Era: An Analysis of 3GPP Architecture and the Transition to Quantum-Resistant Cryptography. The white paper makes a major industry contribution toward ensuring that 5G networks remain secure, resilient, and safeguarded against the threats presented by quantum computing. Specifically, it provides detailed insight into the integration of quantum-resistant cryptography (QRC) within 3GPP 5G network standards.

“The emergence of quantum computing has potentially profound implications on current cryptography, threatening to compromise encrypted communications, expose private data, and undermine current telecom networks’ security foundations,” said ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller. “ATIS has delivered essential insights to help the industry prepare now to secure 5G and next generation mobile networks against quantum computing threats of the future.“

Maintaining 5G’s security foundations depends on its safe transition to QRC. To help the industry achieve this, this ATIS white paper assesses the standardization of current cryptographic methods used to secure 5G and identifies the relevant quantum-resistant solutions suitable for protecting the 5G infrastructure from a quantum adversary. From a security standpoint, it identifies potential quantum vulnerabilities across various network layers. It then evaluates the robustness of proposed quantum-resistant technologies against these risks. It further outlines phased transitional changes and prioritizes updates for future releases of 3GPP standards, the organization developing the mobile network specifications used by billions of communications services consumers globally.