Understanding CNSA 2.0 Planning Milestones

The National Security Agency (NSA) issued the Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite 2.0 (CNSA 2.0) to define future quantum-resistant algorithm requirements for National Security Systems (NSS).

CNSA 2.0 names approved algorithms, while implementation dates depend on the controlling policy, programme, technology, acquisition, and contract. NSA's current CSfC planning describes these milestones and explicitly says the schedule may change:

• 2027: CSfC components supporting CNSA 2.0 algorithms are expected to begin appearing on approved component lists.
• 2028: Current CSfC planning targets capability-package updates requiring CNSA 2.0 for encryption and software or firmware signing.
• 2030: Current CSfC planning targets all registered solutions having CNSA 2.0 algorithms or other post-quantum mitigations across their cryptographic layers.

Treat those as planning milestones, not a universal legal deadline. Verify the latest requirements with the programme owner and the applicable CNSS/NSA material. Start with NSA's post-quantum resources.

The Danger of the “Decryption Cliff”

Why the urgency? Adversaries are employing a strategy called Store Now, Decrypt Later (SNDL): harvesting encrypted traffic today and waiting for large-scale quantum computers to decipher it.

Waiting until a quantum computer exists to begin migration is too late — data encrypted with classic RSA or ECDSA today is already exposed to future decryption.

CipherMap inventories where classical public-key cryptography lives in your code today, and its cnsa-2.0 compliance profile (scan --target cnsa-2.0) adds CNSA-specific findings on top of the base ruleset — policy exclusions such as SHA-3 or SLH-DSA are reported as HIGH policy items, never conflated with broken cryptography.