Financial, Other Industries Urged to Prepare for Quantum Computers

Financial firms, government agencies, and other sectors with sensitive data are urged to prepare for quantum computers today, even though a cryptographically relevant quantum computer may be decades away. In late September, FS-ISAC warned that crypto-procrastination is leaving financial firms unprepared for future threats and data risks posed by quantum computers.

According to FS-ISAC, data harvested now could be decrypted later, so organisations must become cryptographically agile and migrate to post-quantum encryption, with advisors noting that RSA-2048 could be broken in 24 hours in the future.

Experts point to milestones such as a 6,100-qubit processor developed by the California Institute of Technology and Google’s estimate that factoring a 2048-bit RSA key could be achieved with around 1 million qubits, while a four‑way alliance of IBM Consulting, Keyfactor, Quantinuum, and Thales is helping to develop assessment and migration capabilities.

The EU has set a deadline for critical infrastructure to start post-quantum encryption by 2026 and finish by 2030, with Canada and the US proposing parallel timelines for transitioning away from vulnerable algorithms. FS-ISAC’s Michael Silverman emphasises that core tenets of risk management demand immediate action and sector-wide collaboration to map dependencies and prioritise quantum‑vulnerable use cases.