ISO/IEC JTC1 SC27 maintains a standing document on post-quantum cryptography
1 JANUARY 2025, GENEVA
ISO/IEC JTC1 SC27, the subcommittee responsible for information security standards, maintains a standing document on post-quantum cryptography. The document serves as a working reference for the subcommittee's members rather than a published international standard. It informs the subcommittee's ongoing work instead of imposing requirements on organizations.
A working reference plays a coordinating role. It captures the subcommittee's current understanding of post-quantum cryptography and keeps its members aligned as formal standards develop. For outside observers, watching the standing document offers early insight into the direction ISO/IEC standards may take before those standards reach final form.
The distinction from a published standard is important. Organizations certify against the published ISO/IEC standards, not against an internal working reference, so the standing document carries no compliance obligation. Its value is as a signal of where international standardization on post-quantum cryptography is heading, which helps organizations anticipate future standards.
Why it matters. The SC27 standing document is a window into how international information-security standards will treat post-quantum cryptography, maintained by the body that writes them. It binds no one, but it signals direction. Organizations that track ISO/IEC standards can watch the standing document to anticipate the post-quantum requirements that future published standards are likely to carry.