“Quantum Trails helps to demystify some of the technical aspects of cryptographic research, making it accessible to a broader audience, from cybersecurity professionals to students and enthusiasts.”
Throughout a couple of previous posts, we have been highlighting different challenges of the process of migration to post-quantum cryptography. In case we have not convinced you yet to start thinking about post-quantum cryptography and getting ready for the future changes and challenges, this post is for you. We introduce a board game about the migration to post quantum cryptography.
During the game you will get to experience a simulation of the workflow of post-quantum cryptography researcher, how different challenges slow down the research and development process and how some seemingly perfect plans are destroyed by the breaking news from the cryptographic community.
In this game, each player selects a family of cryptographic algorithms that they would like to proceed with and during the game, builds a research team that helps them to complete the migration path.
Migration path in the game consists of the following stages — publish papers, write security proof, apply your scheme for the standard, implement your scheme in hybrid mode, deploy you scheme in the real-life systems, and finally reach worldwide usage. To be able to achieve those stages, players are using action cards that simulate different research and development activities. Action cards allow players to gain money, science and influence tokens. Money tokens are needed to hire new team members and expand the team, science tokens are needed to publish papers and apply for the standard.
Additionally, the game includes supporting marketing activities that are needed to promote research performed by the player’s team and be able to reach the final step of the migration path. We also have mentioned that throughout the game, players get to experience how different challenges slow down the research and development process. This is achieved by introducing a separate type of cards called event cards, each player reveals new event card from the deck in the beginning of their turn and resolves the consequences from the card.
Why we created this game?
Since learning should be as engaging as it is educational, we leverage the power of gamification to make complex topic of the migration process accessible and enjoyable. Our game is not about introducing and memorising facts about the migration process or research in general, but rather about experiencing the challenges and triumphs of post-quantum research.
As the world transitions to post-quantum cryptography to protect against quantum computing threat, understanding the importance of the new post-quantum standards becomes increasingly crucial. This game bridges the gap between the complex theoretical concepts and practical application, providing a hands-on approach to learning about the challenges and steps involved in the migration process. By engaging players in a dynamic and interactive environment, it not only educates but also fosters critical thinking and strategic planning skills. Post-Quantum Trails helps to demystify some of the technical aspects of cryptographic research, making it accessible to a broader audience, from cybersecurity professionals to students and enthusiasts. Consequently, the game plays a significant role in preparing individuals and organisations for the forthcoming cryptographic revolution, ensuring they are better equipped to face the challenges of the future.
We hope the game would stimulate people to learn more about the current state of the migration process and how they could support migration process in their company. Through the gamification experience, we provide the main message to the players that migration is not straightforward and will be with its own caveats for different systems that rely on different cryptographic primitives.
The Cyber-security Excellence Hub in Estonia and South Moravia
