American Bar Association 2024 Federal Procurement Institute

The ABA Federal Procurement Institute is the ABA Section of Public Contract Law’s flagship event, gathering distinguished practitioners from government, industry, private law practice and academia. The event featured lively discussion by panelists covering the gamut of significant federal procurement developments. Panels addressed a variety of issues in the government contract arena, with a specific focus on national security in public procurement. 

Featured agenda item

Friday, March 8, 2024 | 10:15 – 11:45 am EST

Preparing Critical Infrastructure for a Post-Quantum Computing World

Cooley associate Umer Chaudhry moderated this panel focusing on threats posed by quantum computing on current encryption. While nation states are actively pursuing quantum computing that threatens to break cryptographic standards, due to the unique nature of federal contracting, the federal government is typically three to five years behind the private sector in IT infrastructure. Though quantum computing technology capable of breaking current encryption algorithms does not yet exist, government and critical infrastructure entities must prepare for a new post-quantum cryptographic standard to defend against future threats against critical infrastructure. As a result, the White House released a memorandum in May 2022 directing specific actions for agencies to take as the US begins the multiyear process of migrating vulnerable computer systems to quantum-resistant cryptography. This panel discussed what actions the Department of Defense can take to future-proof its IT infrastructure and technology and stay ahead of its adversaries – including an emphasis on cryptographic agility – to reduce the time to contract and implement the technology, and to allow for seamless updates for future cryptographic standards.

For more information, please email Alexandra Chin-Sukhdeo.