In 2022 NIST selects the first quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms, culminating a process begun in 2016 with 69 candidates. CRYSTALS-Kyber (key encapsulation) and CRYSTALS-Dilithium (digital signature), both lattice-based, are published as FIPS standards in 2024. The motivation is Shor's algorithm (1994): once a sufficiently large quantum computer exists, RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography become vulnerable — the "harvest now, decrypt later" threat. NIST's standardization is the global institutional response, marking the point where quantum computing becomes a present security-architecture factor, not just a future abstract threat.