Today, our Senior VP, Ben Packman is at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where we’ve been invited to contribute to a discussion on ‘Futureproofing for Quantum Security Threats’.
The EU is emerging as a global leader in technology regulation, and the lunch event, hosted by the Kangaroo Group and our customer, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), aims to bring policymakers, academics and industry experts together to discuss the threats and opportunities of quantum computing.
- How should governments prepare for the quantum threat?
- Why the urgency and what is the risk?
- What are the practical implementations of quantum cybersecurity already available?
Over the last few years, the European Union has invested heavily into researching high-performance computing, including possible quantum-powered systems. There is incredible potential. For example, this technology could easily lead to better ways to find cures for rare diseases, or to find efficient methods to help protect the environment. However, huge steps forward in computing power also come with the inevitability of malevolent use, such as quantum computers engaged in significant, state-sponsored cyberattacks. While a cryptographically relevant quantum computer hasn’t yet emerged, the threat of harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks is very real; the quantum era has already begun.
That’s why the European Commission has earmarked quantum as a critical technology, and why organisations such as The Kangaroo Group alongside TCS have come together to raise awareness of the threat – both its scale and its immediacy. It is a significant topic of discussion for the European Parliament, and it’s hoped that by collaborating with companies such as PQShield, as well as politicians and academics, the EU can move further towards understanding the required roadmap to quantum resilience.
Ben will be explaining how the team at PQShield have built real-world post-quantum implementations that can help defend against quantum attacks, as well as our view around the world on timelines, industry-readiness, and what’s expected in the course of the next few years.
In this year of acceleration towards post-quantum cryptography, it’s encouraging to see bodies such as the European Parliament taking the quantum threat seriously, and it is our privilege to be included in the discussion.