Previous technological paradigms are no longer sufficient to describe reality. The dynamics of change, driven by the symbiosis of artificial intelligence and quantum computing, is becoming the foundation of a new business strategy, and the line between what is technically unfeasible and what is becoming standard is becoming blurred. This means abandoning the reactive model of infrastructure management in favour of a deep, visionary reconstruction of security systems.
The foundation of today’s digital trust is asymmetric cryptography, based on standards such as RSA and ECC. For decades, these have provided an inviolable wall to protect corporate secrets, patient data and the critical infrastructure of states. However, this era is inevitably coming to an end. Analysts point to 2032 as the moment when legacy encryption methods will no longer be considered secure. This is because the computational potential of quantum computers will allow current security to be broken in times measured in seconds rather than centuries.
The biggest, and most insidious, threat is the phenomenon known as ‘Harvest Now, Decrypt Later’. This strategy, which involves the mass accumulation of encrypted data streams with the intention of decrypting them when quantum processors are accessed, casts a shadow over today’s sense of security. Information that today seems like an unreadable string of characters could become an open book in a few years’ time. For business, this means that trade secrets, construction plans for strategic facilities or sensitive data stolen today will become public on what experts refer to as ‘Q-Day’. So preparing for the post-quantum era is already a top-level risk management priority.
A common misconception in the public debate is that post-quantum cryptography is just another software update, similar to patching holes in an operating system. The reality, however, requires much deeper reflection. The key to survival is becoming what is known as cryptographic agility. This is the ability of an IT architecture to instantly replace encryption algorithms without the need for costly and time-consuming halting of operational processes. Companies that build their systems in a rigid manner risk being paralysed in the face of new, as yet unknown security vulnerabilities that will surely be discovered as quantum physics develops.
Algorithmic evolution is taking place in parallel to the hardware revolution. It is often mistakenly assumed that the worlds of artificial intelligence and quantum computers are separate ecosystems. In fact, quantum computers offer an exponential acceleration of training AI models, creating a new quality of threat. Intelligent systems, backed by quantum computing power, will be able to identify infrastructure vulnerabilities with a precision and speed that goes beyond today’s detection capabilities. This will make cyber threats radically transformed, forcing system architects to design security barriers that can evolve on their own.
In this arms race, however, there is a classic conflict between security and user comfort. It is well known that in the business world, every second of delay and every extra click generated by security mechanisms is seen as friction that reduces efficiency, in which the role of the ‘Security by Design’ concept is revealed. The real innovation lies in integrating highly sophisticated, automated protection mechanisms in such a way that they operate in the background, remaining invisible to the end user. Security cannot be a brake on progress; it must become an integral, unmanned part of it. Only such a symbiosis allows maximum protection to be maintained while keeping business processes running smoothly.
Moving to hybrid solutions, combining proven classical methods with new post-quantum algorithms, seems to be the most sensible path at present for organisations concerned about their strategic resilience. It allows them to comply with current regulations while building resilience to future quantum attacks. However, this challenge requires overcoming a kind of cognitive paralysis. It is often easier to ignore threats far in the future than to make the difficult decision to rebuild the foundations of IT. The history of technology teaches, however, that those who are able to spot impending changes before they become a pressing crisis win.
