FS-ISAC calls for a common post-quantum migration end date for finance
1 JANUARY 2025, WASHINGTON
FS-ISAC, the financial sector's information-sharing body, has called for the industry to adopt a common end date for post-quantum migration. The proposal asks interconnected financial firms to aim for a shared deadline, so the sector moves together rather than at widely different paces. It reframes migration as a collective problem for the industry, not just a task for each firm.
The logic rests on how finance connects. Financial firms interconnect heavily, so the security of a transaction can depend on both parties involved. If firms migrate on very different timelines, the laggards weaken the system that the leaders have secured. A common end date coordinates the sector so that protection advances across firms together rather than unevenly.
The call is a coordinating proposal, not a rule. As an industry body, FS-ISAC cannot mandate a deadline, so its influence depends on firms and regulators embracing the shared-timeline idea. Some supervisors echo the thinking in their own guidance, which gives the proposal reach beyond FS-ISAC's membership even without binding force.
Why it matters. FS-ISAC's common end date proposal addresses a real feature of finance: interconnection means a firm's security depends partly on its counterparties. A shared deadline reduces the risk that slow movers undermine the sector's protection. Financial firms can factor the idea into their planning by aligning their own target dates with the sector's direction, rather than migrating in isolation.