Google Moves Q-Day Estimate to 2029 – Industry Experts Say the Clock Is Already Ticking

Google has set 2029 as its deadline for completing a full migration to post-quantum cryptography (PQC), citing faster-than-expected advances in quantum hardware, error correction, and factoring resource estimates. A key finding shows a 2,048-bit RSA integer could theoretically be factored in under a week using one million noisy qubits — far fewer than previously thought necessary. Security experts warn that the 'Harvest Now, Decrypt Later' threat is already active, with adversaries collecting encrypted data today for future decryption. Android 17 will embed PQC digital signature protection via ML-DSA. Industry professionals urge organizations to immediately conduct cryptographic inventories, engage board-level leadership, and adopt crypto-agile infrastructure capable of swapping algorithms as NIST standards evolve. The consensus: organizations that haven't started preparing are already behind.