Cord Protocol launches post-quantum identity SDK

Cord Protocol, an open source post-quantum cryptographic identity SDK for AI agents, is now available on npm and GitHub [Dev.to]. The tool issues cryptographically signed credentials that bind agent identity, human authorization, and permission scopes in a verifiable format. The v0.1.0 release includes Ed25519-based credential issuance and verification, permission scoping, attestation hashing of agent configurations, and a CLI for key generation and validation. Credentials embed the agent ID, issuer, allowed permissions like 'read:data' or 'write:orders', and expiration timestamps [Dev.to].

The project fills a gap in non-human identity management: current systems like SPIFFE/SPIRE, Okta, and AWS IAM lack native support for agent-specific concerns like intent attestation or dynamic delegation of human authority. Cord Protocol’s CryptoBackend interface is designed to swap Ed25519 for CRYSTALS-Dilithium—a NIST-standardized post-quantum signature scheme—when mature JavaScript implementations become available, without requiring code changes [Dev.to].

The need for post-quantum cryptography is pressing: NIST finalized post-quantum standards in 2024 due to the “harvest now, decrypt later” risk. Adversaries are archiving encrypted traffic today to decrypt it once quantum computers mature, expected within 5–10 years [Dev.to]. Additionally, prompt injection is already exploitable at runtime, with OWASP ranking it as the top security risk for agentic applications in 2026. Cord Protocol directly addresses these concerns by providing audit-ready cryptographic proofs of authorization for AI agents.