Explore the bold perspectives of the 2025 roundtable: Securing the Quantum Future: Why Post-Quantum Cryptography Cannot Wait
Quantum computing is no longer a theoretical curiosity. With steady progress in error correction and algorithm development, machines capable of breaking today’ s encryption may arrive within one or two decades – perhaps sooner. For organizations that depend on digital trust, this is an existential risk. The practice known as“ harvest now, decrypt later” means sensitive data intercepted today could be exposed when quantum computers mature. Europe, facing hybrid threats and new regulatory requirements, must
SECURITY prepare quickly. The transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography( PQC) is not simply a technical upgrade; it is a matter of digital sovereignty and long-term business survival.
The Quantum Threat: Why Today’ s Security Will Not Last
Public key cryptography underpins modern digital life, from secure messaging to software licensing. Yet algorithms like RSA and elliptic curve cryptography, once thought robust, will eventually fall to quantum techniques such as Shor’ s algorithm.
Prof. Dr. Joern Mueller-Quade of Karlsruhe Institute for Technology( KIT) explained at this year’ s Wibu-Systems INNO DAYS roundtable:“ We cannot just assume quantum computers will arrive late. Even if the probability is small in the next 10 – 15 years, the risk is real because secrets harvested today can be decrypted tomorrow.”
The implication is clear: migration to PQC must begin now, not when quantum hardware becomes mainstream.
Hybrid Threats and the Geopolitical Dimension
Cybersecurity is no longer only about criminal activity; it is inseparable from geopolitics. The Charter of Trust, a publication authored by AES, Allianz, Atos, Bosch, Danfoss, IBM, Infineon, Siemens, and TÜV SÜD and presented at the Munich Security Conference( MSC) in February 2025, underlined the rise of hybrid threats – subtle combinations of cyber, physical, and psychological tactics used by state and non-state actors.
Infineon’ s CISO Raphael Otto noted:“ The distinction between financially motivated cybercrime and nation-state actors is blurring. Both increasingly collaborate, making attribution and defense harder.”
Hybrid threats show why PQC cannot be addressed in isolation. As Ursula von der Leyen famously said already in 2021:“ Any thing which is connected can be hacked.” In a world where digital supply chains, healthcare, and even energy grids are targets, stronger cryptography is part of a wider resilience strategy.
AI and Quantum Computing as Game-Changers
Hybrid threats are not only about blurred lines between war and peace. They increasingly exploit the twin forces of artificial intelligence( AI) and quantum computing( QC). AI is already transforming cyber offense and defense: anomaly detection can protect networks, but adversaries use AI to generate malware, automate disinformation, or probe industrial systems. As Dr. Detlef Houdeau of Infineon pointed out,“ Cybersecurity for AI, with AI, and against AI are now parallel challenges – from protecting models and training data to defending against AI-driven attacks.” Quantum computing, meanwhile, poses an even more structural threat. Once operationally relevant, it will undermine today’ s cryptography. The transition will not be a clean cut: Europe’ s own roadmap foresees hybrid approaches, combin-
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