How ciphertext gets copied
Breach exfiltration, backups and archives, cloud misconfiguration, and bulk network collection are the dominant paths. Adversaries do not need to break RSA today — copying is faster than cryptanalysis.
See /blog/video-companion-hndl-jeremy-allison, /blog/hndl-collection-vectors-deep-dive, and /blog/how-encrypted-data-is-harvested.
Mosca inequality
When data shelf-life (X) plus migration time (Y) exceeds the quantum timeline (Z), you have HNDL exposure now. Healthcare payers often see X = 30–50 years with Y = 5–10 years.
Use the Mosca calculator at /q-day/mosca-inequality or the vertical exposure estimator at /q-day/hndl.
Shelf-life by vertical
Healthcare: 30–50 years. Government: 15–50 years. Banking: 7–25 years. SaaS: 1–7 years for transit; watch archives.
Framework guides: /q-day/frameworks/hipaa-hndl, banking-hndl, and gov-hndl.
What to do this quarter
Run cryptographic inventory, tag findings by shelf-life tier, pilot hybrid TLS, and export CBOM for GRC. Start with the free mini-assessment at /assess/mini.
Resources to open next
The goal of this guide is to help you navigate toward the right tools, not stop at the overview. The resources below are the strongest next clicks for this topic.
liboqs
C library for prototyping and experimenting with quantum-resistant cryptography
2,946 stars · Updated 3mo ago
PQClean
Clean, portable, tested implementations of post-quantum cryptography
923 stars · Updated 3mo ago