Quantum Threats: What CISOs Should Do to Prepare
ITPro, Thursday, September 24th, 2026
ITPro lays out five concrete steps CISOs should take now against 'harvest now, decrypt later' attacks and future quantum-breakable cryptography.
ITPro outlines the quantum threats CISOs face: 'harvest now, decrypt later' attacks where adversaries collect encrypted data today to decrypt once quantum computers mature, and the eventual compromise of digital signatures and certificates.
Long-shelf-life data such as IP, product designs, M&A talks and health records are most at risk, with over 80% of surveyed organizations admitting vulnerability.
Recommended steps include inventorying cryptographic usage, prioritizing the roughly 20% of applications holding 80% of data-loss risk, building cryptographic agility, folding quantum-safe upgrades into scheduled refresh cycles, and managing certificates discoverably at scale.