Cybersecurity experts are sounding the alarm on the impending threat of quantum computing to existing cryptography.
At Think Digital Identity and Cybersecurity for Government in London, Frey Wilson, CTO of Cavero Quantum and Simon Moffatt, founder of The Cyber Hut (pictured), discussed ‘Q-Day’ – a threshold moment when quantum computers will be able to break the mathematical foundations of current encryption methods.
“There’s increasing pressures from things like ‘hack now, decrypt later’ attacks,” explained Wilson. “We’ve seen examples of this already where data is being rerouted through perhaps unfriendly nations, and the idea is that perhaps those nations are storing that data, whether it be that when they have access to a sufficiently powerful quantum computer, they might be able to access that and expose the data that’s underneath.”
Wilson emphasised the complexity of the transition to quantum-resistant cryptography, with various solutions offering different benefits and trade-offs. That means organisations must assess their current cryptography landscape, data flows, and priority data to develop an effective quantum safe roadmap.
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“We need a tactical approach to finding technical solutions to fit with kind of different parts of the network, different data types, different data flows,” said Wilson. “Perhaps you want something different for your perhaps internal identity management and data management that you might do in your external and perhaps your citizen access.”
The transition will require significant planning and a gradual, managed approach to avoid disrupting productivity and security.
Wilson recommends starting with a thorough understanding of current cryptography usage and conducting a comprehensive risk assessment.
As quantum computing capabilities continue to advance, Wilson said that organisations should act now to protect their data from the looming threat of quantum-powered attacks.
