Quantum threat mitigation strategies severely wanting, study finds

Quantum computing-enabled threat extenuation procedures were only noted by 5% of IT professionals to have been implemented at their organizations, while only 3% regarded such a strategy to be crucial for their businesses, reports Infosecurity Magazine. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said that their organizations have not begun quantum computing preparations even though 62%, 57%, and 56% expressed concern regarding the current internet encryption compromise, novel business threats, and "harvest now, decrypt later" intrusions stemming from the technology, respectively, a survey from ISACA revealed. Extensive awareness of the National Institute of Standards & Technology's post-quantum cryptographic standards was also observed among only 7% of global IT professionals, with 44% of respondents saying they have never heard of the standards. "Many organizations underestimate the rapid advancement of quantum computing and its potential to break existing encryption. They need to start examining whether they have the expertise to implement post-quantum cryptography solutions now, to ensure they are able to effectively mitigate its impacts," said ISACA Board Director Jamie Norton.