Italy
EU roadmap Standard-takerItaly's posture is led by the National Cybersecurity Agency, the ACN. In 2026 the ACN updated its cryptographic functions guidelines to evaluate quantum-resistant solutions, adding post-quantum alternatives for digital signature schemes and post-quantum solutions in the TLS guidelines, with the update described as aligned to the NIST post-quantum standards published in August 2024. At the policy level Italy presented a national Strategy for Quantum Technologies in 2025, which sets migration to post-quantum cryptography as a strategic objective in line with EU recommendations and with ACN support. The Bank of Italy is active on the financial-sector side, having run post-quantum experiments in real payment systems through the BIS Project Leap and worked on a quantum-safe public key infrastructure. The Italian Parliament, the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, and the Department for Digital Transformation have all addressed post-quantum cryptography in defence, industrial and strategy documents.
Governance credibility
| Criterion | Score | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | 2.0 / 2 | High |
| Coherence | 2.0 / 2 | High |
| Effectiveness | 1.5 / 2 | High |
| Efficiency | 2.0 / 2 | High |
| Governance | 2.0 / 2 | High |
| Impact | 2.0 / 2 | High |
Regulatory basis
- NIS2 Directive (EU) 2022/2555, Art. 21(2)(h)
- DORA, Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 (financial sector)
- Commission Recommendation (EU) 2024/1101 on a coordinated PQC roadmap
- NIS Cooperation Group Coordinated Implementation Roadmap (2026/2030/2035)
Legal status: Binding
Essential and important entities must use state-of-the-art cryptography under NIS2, transposed into national law, and financial entities face equivalent duties under DORA; neither yet names post-quantum algorithms specifically. Migration follows the EU coordinated roadmap, with high-risk use cases targeted for 2030 and full migration by 2035, which is encouraged rather than mandated.
Standards and algorithms
- Standard families
- NIST PQC standards (published August 2024)
Hybrid stance
None stated
Migration timeline
- 2030High-risk use cases migrated
- 2035Full migration of all systems complete
Target completion: 2035
International standards processes
- NIS Cooperation Group co-authored the EU coordinated PQC roadmap
Governmental and standards bodies
- ACN Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale, guidance on post-quantum and quantum cryptography referencing the NIST process and EU transition material, and 2026 update of the cryptographic functions guidelines adding post-quantum alternatives for signatures and TLS aligned to the NIST PQC standards
- Banca d'Italia Bank of Italy, post-quantum experiments in real payment systems via BIS Project Leap, a quantum-safe PKI implementation in a payment systems environment, and notices on the G7 financial-sector roadmap
- Dipartimento per la Trasformazione Digitale Department for Digital Transformation, presented the national Strategy for Quantum Technologies setting migration to post-quantum cryptography as a strategic objective in line with EU recommendations
- Senato Italian Senate documents covering the defence multi-year acquisition programme SMD 41/2025 including post-quantum cryptography and national PQC activities
- Camera dei Deputati Chamber of Deputies, Defence Committee inquiry on quantum technologies for defence and security discussing post-quantum cryptography
- MIMIT (MISE) Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, report mapping Italy's quantum industrial ecosystem and addressing post-quantum cryptography for enterprises and critical digital infrastructure
Key institutional documents
- Linee Guida Funzioni Crittografiche: Transport Layer Security (TLS)
- Linee Guida Funzioni Crittografiche: Firme Digitali (v1.0)
- Transition to post-quantum cryptography: call to action released by the G7 Cybersecurity Working Group
- Transizione alla crittografia post-quantistica: call to action del Gruppo di lavoro G7 sulla cybersicurezza
- The Italian Industrial Ecosystem of Quantum Technologies
- A Practical Implementation of a Quantum-Safe PKI in a Payment Systems Environment
- Parliamentary Inquiry on Quantum Technologies in Defence and Security: Stenographic Record (3 December 2025)
- Strategia Italiana per le Tecnologie Quantistiche (Strategy Document)
- Italian Strategy for Quantum Technologies Presented to the Council of Ministers
- Transitioning to Post-Quantum Cryptography (Joint Statement, Italian version)
- Cryptography: ACN Updates the Guidelines (English)
- Updated Guidelines on Cryptographic Functions (Post-Quantum Alternatives Included)
- Senate Document CCXVIII No. 3 (National Activities Including Post-Quantum Cryptography)
- Multi-Year Programme SMD 41/2025 (Defence Acquisition Including Post-Quantum Cryptography)
- Bank of Italy Joins Phase 2 of the BIS Project Leap to Test Post-Quantum Cryptography in Payment Systems
- The G7 Cyber Expert Group Publishes the Roadmap for the Financial Sector's Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography
- Project Leap 2: Results of the Post-Quantum Cryptography Experimentation in Real Payment Systems
- First Italian Quantum Internet Testbed Inaugurated at the University Federico II of Naples
- G7 Cybersecurity Working Group: Priorities Set in Paris
- Europe United in the Urgency of the Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography
- Post-Quantum and Quantum Cryptography
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