IBM Research 7/17: cryptography needs its own abstraction layer — intent-based API + policy/execution separation + PQC migration support, API spec + Go SDK released

IBM Research's 2026-07-17 blog post 'It's time for cryptography to get its own abstraction layer' argues cryptography needs a standardized layer that separates high-level intent from low-level implementation, much as filesystems and sockets did for storage and networking ('filesystems and sockets once looked like unnecessary layers of indirection; now they're the foundation of modern systems'). IBM proposes an intent-based API organized around scopes representing classes of cryptographic intent such as 'standard digital signatures or authenticated encryption'; applications would only express 'what they need' while 'the details of algorithms, parameters, and implementations move into a layer below, where they can be managed centrally.' Key features: separating policy (control plane) from execution (data plane), modeled on SDN for networks; treating cryptographic backends as interchangeable providers behind a single interface across software, hardware, cloud, or TEEs; enabling algorithm changes without touching application code; supporting post-quantum cryptography (PQC) migration without 'swapping algorithms' alone. IBM released supporting materials including an API specification, a reference standalone server, and a Go client SDK, inviting the community to 'explore the work, challenge the assumptions, and help shape its evolution.'