Ingredients:

• 1 organization’s worth of keys, certificates, and algorithms

• A dash of visibility

• A generous serving of automation

• Clear policies and reporting

• A flexible, future-ready mindset

Preparation:

1. Start with inventory.
   Gather all your cryptographic ingredients in one place. List what each object is, where it lives, who owns it, how it’s used, and when it expires. Connect the dots. Link certificates to their keys, and keys to the services they protect. This creates your single source of cryptographic truth.

2. Mix in policy and compliance.
   Define the rules of your kitchen. Which algorithms are approved? How long can keys and certificates stay fresh? Use these rules to check everything, automatically. When something goes off track, log it as a violation, assign ownership, and, if needed, allow short-term exceptions with expiry dates.

3. Add automation.
   Manual work spoils quickly. Automate renewals, rotations, and revocations. Tie them into your workflow systems: tickets open, actions happen, evidence is logged, audits become simple. The recipe works best when it runs without constant stirring.

4. Simmer with visibility.
   Keep dashboards bubbling with live updates on what’s expiring, which algorithms are weak, who’s quantum-ready. Serve reports that leaders can digest at a glance. Replace crisis cooking with a steady rhythm of inspection and improvement.

5. Finish with flexibility.
   Assume the recipe will evolve. New algorithms will come and old ones will go. Design your setup so changes can be rolled out without rewriting the menu.

Chef’s secret:
IBM Guardium Cryptography Manager turns this recipe into reality. It discovers and inventories cryptographic assets, checks them against your rules, automates renewal and remediation, and integrates seamlessly with existing tools. The result? Cryptographic management that’s reliable, audit-ready, and adaptable; a kitchen that runs itself.

Learn more about how IBM is helping organizations prepare for quantum-safe cryptography here.