Organizations Urged to Map Encryption Now as Quantum Threat Endangers Long-Lived Data
Updated
Updated · UC Today · Aug 17
Organizations Urged to Map Encryption Now as Quantum Threat Endangers Long-Lived Data
3 articles · Updated · UC Today · Aug 17
Summary
Cybersecurity advisers are telling organizations to start quantum-readiness planning now because attackers can steal encrypted data today and decrypt it later once quantum machines mature.
NIST has completed post-quantum cryptography standards and the UK's NCSC has issued migration timelines, shifting the risk from a hypothetical "if" to a planning question of "when."
The first step is a full inventory of where cryptography sits across applications, devices, cloud services, APIs, databases, certificates and identity systems, since many companies lack that visibility.
Organizations are being urged to prioritize systems holding long-lived secrets—such as intellectual property, medical records, defense data and pharmaceutical research—rather than trying to become fully quantum-safe overnight.
Thales' Chris Harris said firms should also press vendors for post-quantum road maps and build "crypto agility" so future algorithm changes can be made through configuration instead of another large migration.