From the first cryptographic primitive to a migration you can measure. Eighteen parts, read in order or by prerequisite: cryptography foundations, the quantum threat model with real resource estimates, the mathematics of lattices and codes, deep dives into ML-KEM/ML-DSA/SLH-DSA and the algorithms beyond them, hybrid TLS and X.509 trust, implementation security, performance engineering, a reproducible hands-on lab, and migration engineering grounded in real deployment case studies. Every current-state claim is sourced to a primary FIPS, RFC, or vendor engineering post — not a press summary.
Each part is self-contained but assumes the previous ones. Start at Part 1 if you're new to PQC.
Why migration urgency doesn't require a working quantum computer yet (harvest-now-decrypt-later), what NIST has actually finalized (FIPS 203/204/205) vs. what's still draft, and the four separate questions hiding inside "is this quantum-safe."
Build the vocabulary of hashes, MACs, AEAD, key derivation, public keys, signatures, certificates, and TLS — with small reproducible experiments.
Understand Shor, Grover, resource estimates, and harvest-now-decrypt-later without confusing mathematical algorithms with machines that already exist.
Small worked examples of modular arithmetic, vectors, noise, polynomial rings, coding theory, and modern cryptographic security games.
Compare lattices, codes, hash-based signatures, multivariate systems, proof-derived signatures, and isogenies by assumptions and engineering tradeoffs.
Derive noisy-linear-system encryption, distinguish LWE and Module-SIS, and understand polynomial multiplication and NTT butterflies through checked examples.
Follow ML-KEM from noisy polynomial encryption to chosen-ciphertext-secure key establishment, exact parameter sizes, implicit rejection, and a tested OpenSSL lab.
Understand Fiat–Shamir with aborts, ML-DSA parameter sizes, message contexts, hedged signing, and a reproducible sign-and-verify experiment.
Build intuition from Lamport signatures and Merkle paths to WOTS+, FORS, stateless hypertrees, exact SLH-DSA sizes, and limited-use draft parameters.
Evaluate Falcon's compact lattice signatures, HQC's code-based diversity, Classic McEliece, and the additional-signature process without confusing candidates with final standards.
Trace standardized ML-KEM hybrid groups through TLS 1.3, exact share ordering, negotiation, retry behavior, transport costs, and a verified local OpenSSL exchange.
Separate certificate keys from issuer signatures, understand RFC 9881 ML-DSA encodings, test a local chain, and plan CA, revocation, artifact-signing, and long-term trust migration.
Build an assurance argument across constant-time code, decapsulation behavior, physical attacks, randomness, memory safety, test vectors, fuzzing, and scoped formal verification.
Measure post-quantum operations and complete handshakes honestly: exact wire sizes, local OpenSSL observations, CPU and memory boundaries, concurrency, and reproducible benchmark design.
Reproduce the course's native OpenSSL experiments with a checksum-pinned build, disposable keys, automated negative tests, local TLS, a container recipe, and CI.
Turn PQC migration into an owned program: inventory, data-lifetime risk, dependencies, protocol profiles, canaries, rollback, evidence, and a practical maturity model.
Read Chrome, Cloudflare, AWS, Signal, Apple, and OpenSSH deployment accounts critically: exact mechanisms, rollout boundaries, compatibility, ratcheting, and evidence.
A seven-stage PQC learning path with 30 resource sections, primary standards, books, lectures, papers, tools, projects, and concrete 30-day, 90-day, and six-month plans.
Two standalone reference pieces alongside the 18-part course, useful as a single-page refresher once you've read the parts they summarize.
A single-page reference covering the threat model, the algorithm families, and the finalized standards — for when you need a refresher rather than another full chapter.
A single-page reference covering migration planning, protocol support, and real deployment lessons — the operational counterpart to the foundations survey.