An IBM think tank emphasized the need for “quantum-safe” strategies to protect highly sensitive data processed through quantum computing.
On Thursday, IBM Institute for Business Value released a report outlining how organizations can secure their quantum computers from cyberattacks and potential vulnerabilities.
Commonly used data encryption protocols such as public key cryptography are at risk of wiretapping, exfiltration and data harvesting in the next several years, according to the report. Cybercriminals could take advantage of the overflowing sensitive data in quantum computers by harvesting them first and decrypting them later when they become valuable.
IBM’s security and cryptography experts recommended the adoption of new algorithms identified by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology to implement quantum-safe encryption across an organization’s IT ecosystem.
They also suggested conducting regular analyses of business-critical systems to identify dependent cryptography that could lead to vulnerabilities. Creating a dashboard to monitor and observe the threat landscape will also help maintain information security and integrity, the report stated.