Germany Prepares Quantum-Secure ID Cards

Since 2010, Germany’s national ID card has included an integrated online identification function that supports secure authentication for citizens. Each card remains valid for ten years, which creates a long-term requirement for resistance to emerging cyber risks. As quantum computing advances, Germany must equip its next-generation ID cards to withstand quantum-computer attacks on both hardware and software.

Bundesdruckerei GmbH and Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) have completed the preparatory stage of the transition. Together with the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and Infineon Technologies, the partners have developed a demonstrator that integrates post-quantum cryptography (PQC) into ID chips.

The collaboration represents a joint technical foundation designed to secure the national identity infrastructure against quantum-enabled threats.

“Bundesdruckerei and G+D are the first in Germany to demonstrate that highly secure, quantum-resistant cryptography, covering both encryption and authentication, can be implemented on ID chips,” says Dr Kim Nguyen, Senior Vice President of Innovation at Bundesdruckerei.

“This marks a decisive step toward ensuring the future security of digital identities,” he adds.

Bundesdruckerei and G+D establish technical milestone

The project will proceed in two stages. Initially, Germany’s ID cards will utilise a hybrid cryptographic model, combining classical methods with quantum-resistant digital signatures to prevent data forgery.

The second phase will transition fully to post-quantum security once standardisation and testing are complete.

The demonstrator, implemented on Infineon’s specialised chips, is one of the world’s first functional systems combining classical and PQC algorithms in a national identity document. It follows the latest recommendations for hybrid cryptographic schemes published by international security authorities.

Gabriel von Mitschke-Collande, Member of the Management Board and Group Chief Digital Officer at G+D, says, “The question is no longer whether quantum computers capable of breaking current cryptographic methods will exist, but when this so-called Q-Day will arrive.

"Companies are already exploring quantum computing in areas such as materials science and pharmaceutical research. We must act now to protect our digital infrastructure. The transition to quantum-resistant encryption is not optional – it’s essential.”

He adds that G+D’s partnership with Bundesdruckerei creates a working model that “combines the innovative potential of quantum computing with the right security technology.”

Infineon and BSI Align on quantum security roadmap

Infineon’s contribution focuses on chip architecture that allows the efficient implementation of PQC algorithms without expanding computational overhead.

These chips are engineered to support fast, side-channel-resistant cryptographic operations, a requirement for secure deployment in ID documents with limited hardware capacity.

BSI President Claudia Plattner says, “Equipping ID card chips with post-quantum cryptography is essential, as we must assume that by 2030, quantum computers will be capable of breaking today’s cryptographic algorithms.

"By then, governments must be ready to issue quantum-secure ID cards. Germany can be proud to take a pioneering role in protecting the future security of sovereign documents.”

The BSI continues to track developments in quantum computing and publishes regular updates assessing its implications for public-sector security systems.

An EU roadmap currently calls for PQC adoption in critical and high-risk applications by 2030, aligning Germany’s national ID modernisation with continental security targets.

G+D and Bundesdruckerei build on research programmes

G+D’s role in quantum-resistant systems extends from prior participation in the German government-funded projects Aquorypt and Quoryptan, which tested PQC on secure hardware.

The initiatives examined methods of minimising the computational footprint of resource-intensive algorithms while meeting new encryption standards.

Bundesdruckerei has conducted similar research since 2022, collaborating with Infineon and the Fraunhofer Institute on the first electronic passport demonstrator that meets post-quantum security requirements.

That work has informed the approach now used in Germany’s ID card prototype.

While large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers do not yet exist, their theoretical capability to solve discrete logarithms and prime factorisation problems more efficiently than classical machines means that current encryption schemes could one day be compromised.

As government-issued ID cards and passports store sensitive personal information, the development of hybrid post-quantum protection is considered a preventative measure rather than a reactive one.

Kim says the collaboration “lays the groundwork for long-term protection of citizen data and secure authentication in a future quantum computing environment.”