Security & Quantum Readiness
The short version
- Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and kiosks run only signed software.
- We are moving to NIST's post-quantum standards (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA), starting with hybrid TLS on our most sensitive links.
- We follow NIST's 2030/2035 timeline for retiring quantum-vulnerable encryption, and hold our vendors to the same plan.
Who we are
These policies are provided by Pivotal Intelligence LLC, a Smart City Media company (“Pivotal Intelligence,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). “Smart City Media” means Smart City Media LLC and its subsidiaries and affiliates other than Pivotal Intelligence. “Affiliates” means Smart City Media and any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with Pivotal Intelligence.
Pivotal Intelligence operates the Citypost™ digital kiosks, the Citypost mobile app, the Campaign Manager advertising platform, the kiosk sensor network, the Citypost Wi-Fi service, and this website (together, the “Services”).
1. Our approach
Citypost kiosks are public infrastructure that stay in service for many years. That is why we design security for the full life of the equipment, including the arrival of quantum computers capable of breaking the public-key cryptography (RSA and elliptic-curve) that most of the internet relies on today.
The most immediate risk is “harvest now, decrypt later”: an attacker can record encrypted traffic today and store it until a quantum computer can decrypt it. Data that needs to stay confidential for years, and the keys that sign kiosk software, are the most exposed. Our program addresses that risk now, rather than waiting for the threat to arrive.
2. How we protect data today
- In transit: TLS 1.2 or higher for all connections between kiosks, apps, our cloud, and partner systems, with TLS 1.3 preferred.
- At rest: AES-256 encryption for stored data and backups, with keys managed in AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS).
- Kiosk integrity: secure boot and digitally signed firmware and software updates, so kiosks run only code we have authorized.
- Access: least-privilege, role-based access with multi-factor authentication for all administrative access, and logging of privileged actions.
- Network: segmentation between kiosk systems, the public Wi-Fi network and third-party sensors; continuous monitoring and intrusion detection.
- Vendors: security reviews and written security obligations for service providers and sensor partners.
- Data minimization: we collect and keep as little personal information as possible (see our retention schedule). Data we don't keep can't be harvested.
3. Our post-quantum transition
We are aligning our transition with the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) post-quantum cryptography standards and federal guidance:
- FIPS 203 (ML-KEM) for key establishment;
- FIPS 204 (ML-DSA) and FIPS 205 (SLH-DSA) for digital signatures, including software and firmware signing;
- additional NIST-selected algorithms, such as HQC, as they are standardized;
- NIST's timeline to deprecate quantum-vulnerable public-key algorithms after 2030 and disallow them after 2035;
- the product categories CISA and NSA have identified as supporting post-quantum cryptography, which we use to guide our purchasing.
| Phase | What we are doing | Target |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Inventory | Maintain a cryptographic inventory (a “cryptographic bill of materials”) of every algorithm, key, certificate and protocol across kiosks, sensors, networks, apps and cloud services, ranked by how long the data they protect must stay confidential. | Complete Q1 2027, then maintained continuously |
| 2. Crypto-agility | Build kiosks, apps and services so that algorithms can be swapped through software updates, without replacing hardware. | All new deployments from 2027 |
| 3. Hybrid key exchange | Move kiosk-to-cloud, administrative, API and Wi-Fi portal connections to TLS 1.3 with hybrid key exchange (a classical algorithm combined with ML-KEM), so traffic stays protected even if one of the two is broken. | Begin 2026; priority links by 2027 |
| 4. Post-quantum signatures | Adopt ML-DSA or SLH-DSA for kiosk firmware and software signing, and for internal certificates, as our hardware and platforms support them. | By 2028 |
| 5. Retire vulnerable algorithms | Phase out quantum-vulnerable RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography for confidentiality and authentication. | Aligned with NIST: deprecated after 2030, eliminated by 2035 |
Requirements for our vendors and sensor partners
Vendors and Tier 1 and Tier 2 sensor partners that connect to our network must document the cryptography they use, support crypto-agility, and provide a post-quantum migration plan consistent with the timeline above. Tier 3 partners must encrypt their traffic across our network and attest to their own migration plan.
What we will and won't claim
Post-quantum migration is a multi-year industry effort. We describe our systems as “migrating to” or “aligned with” NIST post-quantum standards, and we will update this page as each phase is completed. We do not describe any system as “quantum-proof.” Some technologies outside our control, such as over-the-air Wi-Fi encryption between your device and a kiosk, depend on industry standards that do not yet include post-quantum protection. We will adopt those protections as they become available.
4. Incident response and notification
We maintain and test an incident response plan. If an incident affects personal information or a Municipal Partner's systems, we will notify affected people, partners and regulators as required by law and by our contracts, as described in our Privacy Notice.
5. Reporting a vulnerability
If you believe you have found a security vulnerability in our Services, please report it to security@pivotal-intelligence.com. Please give us a reasonable amount of time to fix the issue before you disclose it publicly, avoid accessing other people's data, and do not disrupt service or physically tamper with kiosks. We will not pursue legal action against researchers who follow these guidelines in good faith.
6. For Municipal Partners and procurement teams
We can provide our cryptographic inventory summary, our post-quantum migration plan, and our security documentation under NDA to support procurement and security reviews. Contact security@pivotal-intelligence.com.