{"id":4680,"date":"2026-03-02T17:37:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T17:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/chrome-unveils-plan-for-quantum-safe-https-certificates\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T17:37:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T17:37:29","slug":"chrome-unveils-plan-for-quantum-safe-https-certificates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/2026\/03\/02\/chrome-unveils-plan-for-quantum-safe-https-certificates\/","title":{"rendered":"Chrome Unveils Plan For Quantum-Safe HTTPS Certificates"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"cphContent_pnlArticleBody\" data-layout-id=\"2\" data-edit-folder-name=\"text\" data-index=\"0\">\n<p>Google&#8217;s Chrome team has launched a new initiative to protect HTTPS connections from the future threat of quantum computers. The effort focuses on redesigning how digital certificates work so they can withstand quantum-powered attacks without slowing down the web.<\/p>\n<p>The move follows the formation of a new working group at the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) called PLANTS, short for PKI, Logs and Tree Signatures.<\/p>\n<p>The group is addressing technical hurdles linked to quantum-resistant cryptography, which typically increases the size of data exchanged during TLS connections. Larger certificates can create performance and bandwidth challenges, particularly for systems relying on Certificate Transparency logs.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Why Chrome Is Moving Beyond Traditional Certificates<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Rather than adding larger post-quantum X.509 certificates to its existing root store, Chrome is collaborating with industry partners to develop Merkle Tree Certificates (MTCs). These certificates are being standardized within the PLANTS working group.<\/p>\n<p>MTCs replace the traditional chain of digital signatures with compact proof\u00a0derived from a Merkle tree structure.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of signing each certificate individually, a Certification Authority signs a single &#8220;Tree Head&#8221; that can represent millions of certificates. Browsers then receive a lightweight proof confirming a site&#8217;s inclusion in that tree.<\/p>\n<p>The approach is designed to reduce the amount of authentication data transmitted during a TLS handshake. It also embeds transparency directly into the certificate issuance process, removing the need for separate Certificate Transparency checks.<\/p>\n<p><em>Read more on quantum-resistant cryptography: Quantum Computers Are Coming for Your Crypto Keys, But Not Yet<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Three-Phase Rollout Underway<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Chrome has already begun testing MTCs on live internet traffic and outlined a three-stage deployment plan:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Phase 1, currently underway, includes a feasibility study with Cloudflare, with every MTC-backed connection paired with a traditional X.509 certificate as a fail-safe<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Phase 2, scheduled for the first quarter of\u00a02027, will invite selected Certificate Transparency log operators to help bootstrap public MTC deployment<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Phase 3, planned for the third quarter of\u00a02027, will introduce the Chrome Quantum-resistant Root Store, a new trust framework dedicated solely to MTCs<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The new root programme will operate alongside Chrome&#8217;s existing root store to ensure continuity and stability during the transition.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the technical framework, Chrome says it is using the transition to modernize certificate governance. Proposed updates include ACME-only workflows, streamlined revocation systems and enhanced oversight models designed for continuous, externally verifiable monitoring.<\/p>\n<p>The team also confirmed it will continue supporting existing certificate authorities within the current Chrome Root Store, while building infrastructure for quantum-resistant HTTPS. Traditional X.509 certificates using quantum-safe algorithms may still be supported in private PKIs later this year.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As we execute and refine our work on MTCs, we look forward to sharing a concrete policy framework for a quantum-resistant root store with the community, and are excited to learn and define clear pathways for organizations to operate as Chrome-trusted MTC CAs,&#8221; the Chrome team concluded.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Google&#8217;s Chrome team has launched a new initiative to protect HTTPS connections from the future threat of quantum computers. The effort focuses on redesigning how digital certificates work so they can withstand quantum-powered attacks without slowing down the web. The move follows the formation of a new working group at the Internet Engineering Task Force<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e.jpg",300,300,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e.jpg",300,300,false],"medium_large":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e.jpg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e.jpg",300,300,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e.jpg",300,300,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e.jpg",300,300,false],"morenews-featured":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e.jpg",300,300,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e.jpg",300,300,false],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e.jpg",300,300,false],"crawlomatic_preview_image":["https:\/\/ft365.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4680-bd070b36-4922-4581-b7c6-e4426c30de6e-146x146.jpg",146,146,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"henry","author_link":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/author\/henry\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/category\/uncategorized\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Uncategorized<\/a>","tag_info":"Uncategorized","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ft365.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}