Quantum Computers: The Next Big Threat to Your Digital Life?

By 2026, we won’t ask if quantum computing will impact cybersecurity; we’ll ask how soon and by how much. 

The global investment in quantum computing is expected to surpass US$50 billion by 2030, marking a transition to a new computing paradigm and corresponding cyber risk categories.

In our pillar blog, 

The Future of Cybersecurity: AI, Quantum Threats & Digital Deception

We portrayed how quantum computing now serves as a member of the trinity of digital disruption alongside AI and deepfakes. 

In this blog, quantum computing emerges as a uniquely systemic threat for hyper-disruption, as it can potentially undermine the fundamentals of modern cybersecurity.

Real Risk, Real Fast: What Could Happen to Today’s Encryption

Public-key encryption is the most widely relied upon form of cybersecurity today and is a math-based architecture that secures everything from your WhatsApp chats to corporate banking systems.

Quantum computing and Shor’s Algorithm could destroy current encryption systems in a matter of minutes.

 In parallel, AI vs. Hackers: The Silent War That Could Define Your Future is unfolding right now, where attackers use AI-driven malware and defenders deploy AI-powered anomaly detection.

The results of a 2023 KPMG Canada survey revealed –

• 73% of U.S. companies believe it is just a matter of time before quantum systems can crack today’s encryption.
• 95% of German firms believe the threat quantum poses to current cryptographic infrastructure is “very high”.
• Only 1 out of 4 firms has intelligently addressed quantum risks in their current cybersecurity strategy.

This leaves the gap as a motto for cybersecurity professionals, especially individuals entering the profession through a Career Support Programme, which must consider how to prepare for a possible post-quantum world.

Real World Shock – When Quantum Threats Stop Being Hypothetical

Security agencies such as ENISA and NIST have identified an emerging “quantum-adjacent” tactic known as “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later”.

In this practice, threat actors exfiltrate encrypted sensitive data today and store it indefinitely, betting on the notion that quantum computing will eventually be able to crack the encrypted code.

This isn’t some plot from Mr. Robot Intelligence reports have shown that state-backed threat actors are stockpiling years of encrypted military and government communications today to exploit when quantum capabilities become a reality.

Meanwhile, Deepfakes, Disinformation & the Rise of Trust Hackers are eroding digital confidence, with manipulated media now as dangerous to trust as quantum is to encryption.

The risk to industries that face this issue is existential, including organizations in:

• Healthcare – where patient data has a shelf life of 20 + years.
• Finance – where records are 10 to 20 years old, and benefit fraud.
• Government and intelligence – where classified documents will become weaponizable forms of attack once stolen, years after the fact.

For cybersecurity students today, this may mean that the first quantum breach will happen on their watch.

Career Disruption = Career Opportunity (If You’re Ready)

The rise of quantum risk is changing job roles in cybersecurity, and career support programmes that ignore it will become obsolete in no time.

Here is how quantum tech is establishing new job roles:

These are no longer hypothetical job roles. Governments are creating laws for preparedness, and businesses are hiring in advance.

In 2022, the U.S. implemented the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, while Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued advisory MAS/TCRS/2024/01 on how financial institutions should prepare.

A robust Career Support Programme today will include:

• Quantum risk awareness modules
• A primer for post-quantum cryptography
• Training on the global regulatory environment and governance
• Simulations of “quantum breach” scenarios

The Mosca Theorem: You Must Do It Before It’s Too Late

Dr Michele Mosca from the University of Waterloo presented a simple but elegant formula:

X + Y > Z

Where:

X = The amount of time your data needs to be secure

Y = The amount of time to migrate to quantum-safe systems

Z = When quantum computers can ruin encryption

For many organizations and governments, now past zero on that timeline. If you are a student of cybersecurity or an enrollee in a professional programme, you now only have time.

What today’s students learn – or fail to learn – will determine whether tomorrow’s organizations are secure or vulnerable.

A Post-Quantum World Is Going To Need Post-Quantum Talent

Quantum computing is the blessing and the curse of the cybersecurity world – the curse being that it could undo the encryption that is the backbone of the digital economy; the blessing that it necessitates inventiveness, creates needs for new job roles, and eventually increases the value of knowledge for cybersecurity practitioners who know it.

At MAGES Institute, our Career Support Programme is adapting to not only train students for what is, but to develop their skills for what is next – starting with:

• Basics for quantum security
• Real-world simulations with industry
• Certification tracks aligned with NIST and MAS requirements

Because in a world where a new breakthrough could undo all encryption, the only real asset is human intelligence, trained and knowledgeable to lead.