Patero and Carahsoft Partner to Inventory Cryptography of Federal and Commercial Organizations

Insider Brief

• Carahsoft and Patero formed a partnership to distribute Patero’s PanoQoR cryptography discovery and quantum-risk assessment platform to U.S. and Canadian public-sector agencies, aligning with federal mandates requiring inventories of vulnerable cryptographic systems.
• The agreement makes Patero’s post-quantum transition tools available through major government procurement vehicles as agencies face deadlines under OMB M-23-02, NSA CNSA 2.0, and Canadian PQC policies, which call for prioritized migration plans and staged adoption of quantum-resistant encryption.
• PanoQoR provides automated cryptographic inventory, quantum-risk scoring, and compliance reporting designed to help agencies counter “harvest-now, decrypt-later” threats and prepare for systematic moves to post-quantum cryptography.

PRESS RELEASE — Carahsoft Technology Corp., the Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, and Patero Inc., a pioneer in cryptographic inventory and post-quantum encryption, today announced a partnership to distribute Patero’s cryptography discovery, inventory, quantum risk assessment, and compliance reporting solution, PanoQoR™, to the Public Sector. Under the agreement, Carahsoft will serve as Patero’s Master Government Aggregator®, making the company’s quantum computing solutions available to the Public Sector through Carahsoft’s reseller partners and NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V, Information Technology Enterprise Solutions – Software 2 (ITES-SW2), National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint and OMNIA Partners contracts.

“The shift to post-quantum cryptography is not theoretical, it’s operational,” said Peter Bentley, Chief Operating Officer at Patero. “Agencies must know what encryption they have today before they can protect what matters tomorrow. Carahsoft’s unmatched Public Sector network makes them the ideal partner to scale this capability in the U.S. and Canada.”

Sufficiently powerful quantum computers could crack the asymmetric encryption currently used by Governments and civilian organizations worldwide. In May 2022, the White House issued National Security Memorandum 10 to address the risk posed by quantum computing to encrypted data and information systems. Subsequently, OMB issued Memorandum M-23-02, which requires agencies to submit an annual prioritized inventory of information systems and assets that contain cryptographic systems vulnerable to quantum attacks.

Carahsoft’s Quantum Solutions Team now distributes Patero’s PanoQoR cryptography inventory solution to help meet this mandatory inventory requirement for its Federal, defense, and critical infrastructure customer base. Establishing a cryptography inventory, quantum risk assessment, and compliance reporting solution not only meets Federal and civilian regulatory requirements but also represents the first step toward migrating from legacy encryption methods to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) for protecting sensitive data and systems.

Urgency and Alignment With Government Timelines

• U.S. agencies must submit PQC transition plans under OMB M-23-02 and complete high-priority migrations by 2030, per NSA’s CNSA 2.0 guidance.
• Canadian departments must submit initial PQC migration plans by April 2026, complete critical transitions by 2031 and achieve full PQC compliance by 2035.
• Both administrations have warned that “harvest-now, decrypt-later” campaigns are actively capturing sensitive data encrypted with classical algorithms, creating an invisible breach window that can only be closed through quantum-resistant encryption.

Patero and Carahsoft will provide agencies with the capabilities of

• Cryptographic Discovery & Inventory: Customers can identify all instances of classical encryption across IT, OT and cloud ecosystems.
• Quantum Risk Scoring & Prioritization: Public Sector organizations may assess exposure to “harvest-now, decrypt-later” risks and regulatory deadlines.
• Compliance Reporting & Continuous Monitoring: Agencies are enabled to produce auditable evidence of progress toward CNSA 2.0 and ITSM.40.001 milestones.

​​​​​“Quantum computing will redefine cybersecurity,” said Troy Meraw, Quantum Solutions Program Manager at Carahsoft. “By bringing Patero’s cryptographic inventory and PQC remediation tools to our Government and enterprise customers, Carahsoft and our reseller partners are enabling security leaders to take proactive steps now to meet mandates.”

Image credit: Patero