Cloudflare's planned certificate authority targets Q1 2027 for post-quantum Merkle Tree Certificates
Cloudflare plans to become a public certificate authority and start production issuance of post-quantum Merkle Tree Certificates in the first quarter of 2027. Teams planning a post-quantum migration now have an issuer-side date to test web PKI against.
The Watch · Security desk
What happened
- Cloudflare agreed to acquire publicly trusted root key material from GlobalSign so older, unpatched devices trust its certificates, and expects the deal to close within two months.
- Cloudflare has applied to the Chrome, Apple, Microsoft and Mozilla root programs, all four applications are pending, and classical issuance begins only after acceptance.
- Post-quantum algorithms produce signatures of 2,420 bytes against 64 bytes for current elliptic curve schemes, according to SC World.
- Site owners will manage classic and MTC certificates in one system, with no forced cutover between the two types.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint Classical issuance waits on four vendors' root-program reviews, so the start of Cloudflare's conventional certificates depends on Chrome, Apple, Microsoft and Mozilla timing more than on Cloudflare's.
- Who's exposed exposure Sites that move issuance to Cloudflare trade reliance on the dominant CAs for reliance on Cloudflare's CA, with a public health dashboard and reproducible builds as the offered checks.
- What's now possible capability RFC 9773 renewal signaling would let Cloudflare swap certificates across millions of sites in the background during a revocation, without owners reissuing by hand.
Next story · Invest · 4d ago
Zuckerberg says Meta will take a commission on Muse purchases as app tops 2.5 million US downloads in two weeksConfirmed3 publishers
Q1 2027 is Cloudflare's date for issuing MTCs in production [2]. That is the issuer's date. On the browser side there is one experiment on the record: Cloudflare ran it with Chrome first and says it is building on it [8]. Help Net Security's account links root-program acceptance to classical issuance [7]. It does not say whether production MTCs wait for the same reviews, or when a browser will verify MTCs outside a trial.
Size is why a new format is needed. By SC World's figures, a post-quantum signature is about 38 times the size of the elliptic curve signature it replaces [13]. With an MTC, the browser checks a lightweight proof that the certificate appears in a trusted public log, so the heavy signatures are not sent with every connection [4]. Cloudflare co-authored the design. It is still an IETF draft specification [4].
The urgency in the announcement comes from Cloudflare's own estimate. The company expects quantum computers able to break today's encryption within years [15]. "Upgrading the web's security before quantum computers can break it is one of the biggest coordination challenges in the history of the Internet," said Matthew Prince, Cloudflare's CEO and co-founder [9].
Cloudflare's second argument is about concentration. The company says much of the web's certificate issuing rests on a small set of dominant CAs, so one failure or compromise would spread widely [10]. Its answer is a new high-scale issuer, and that issuer is Cloudflare [10].
Both reports relay Cloudflare's announcement [1]. SC World's brief credits Silicon Angle as its source [14].
What to watch
- Rulings by the Chrome, Apple, Microsoft and Mozilla root programs on Cloudflare's pending applications, which gate its classical issuance.
- Whether the GlobalSign root key purchase closes within the two months Cloudflare expects.
- Any browser announcing production verification of MTCs beyond the earlier Chrome experiment, and movement of the IETF draft.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence50
- Adoption8
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence60
Perspective Coverage
4 publishers- Builder
- Builder 45%
- Operator
- Operator 45%
- Investor
- Investor 10%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Cloudflare plans to become a public certificate authority that will issue conventional certificates and a post-quantum type called Merkle Tree Certificates (MTCs).
- [2]
Cloudflare has scheduled production MTC issuance for the first quarter of 2027.
- [3]
Cloudflare has agreed to acquire publicly trusted root key material from GlobalSign so its certificates are recognized on older phones and other devices that no longer get software updates, and expects the deal to close within two months, subject to customary closing conditions.
- [4]
MTCs, which Cloudflare co-authored as an IETF draft specification, let a browser check that a certificate appears in a trusted registry or public log using lightweight proofs, avoiding sending heavy post-quantum signatures with every connection.
- [5]
New post-quantum algorithms produce signatures of 2,420 bytes compared to 64 bytes for current elliptic curve schemes.
- [6]
Site owners will be able to manage classic and MTC certificates in one system, without a forced cutover.
- [7]
Cloudflare has applied to the Chrome, Apple, Microsoft and Mozilla root programs; all four applications are pending, and classical issuance begins only after that acceptance process finishes.
- [8]
Cloudflare ran an experiment with Chrome first and is building on it.
- [9]
Upgrading the web's security before quantum computers can break it is one of the biggest coordination challenges in the history of the Internet.
- [10]
Cloudflare says much of the web's certificate issuing rests on a small set of dominant CAs, so one failure or compromise would spread widely; a new high-scale issuer is its answer to that problem.
- [11]
Cloudflare promises a live public health dashboard and reproducible code builds for its CA.
- [12]
Cloudflare plans to use automated renewal signaling (RFC 9773) to replace certificates in the background across millions of sites during routine revocations or security updates.
- [13]
A 2,420-byte post-quantum signature is about 38 times the size of a 64-byte elliptic curve signature.
- [14]
SC World's brief cites Silicon Angle as its source.
- [15]
Cloudflare expects quantum computers able to break today's encryption within years.
Sources
4 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- arstechnica.comCloudflare plans to issue quantum-safe TLS certificates
1 article · September 30, 2026
- helpnetsecurity.comPost-quantum website certificates from Cloudflare are scheduled for early 2027
1 article · September 29, 2026
- infoq.comCloudflare Plans Public Certificate Authority to Issue Quantum-Safe TLS Certificates
1 article · October 4, 2026
- scworld.comCloudflare announces plans for post-quantum certificate authority
1 article · September 29, 2026
Topics and entities
Entities
- Google Chrome
- Cloudflare
- IETF
- Merkle Tree Certificates
- Matthew Prince