Security CEO and Founder of Safe Quantum Inc., working with data-driven companies to define, develop and deploy quantum-safe technologies.
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Timing is everything, especially when it comes to technology.
The next “big thing” looming on the horizon is arguably quantum computing and the promise of unprecedented speed, unimaginable power and unbreakable security. Yet many industry watchers (like me) agree that commercial utilization of quantum computers is still 10 or more years away. Make no mistake, though: As with the adoption of electric lights, quantum will be a gradual revolution. The lights won’t be all lit up immediately, but they all will be eventually.
So the question becomes: What can you do to prepare and when should you start?
In a recent commentary from Adrian Stanger, senior cryptographic authority in the Cybersecurity Directorate at the National Security Agency (NSA), he posited that by waiting and moving too late, your systems will be unprotected from quantum attacks. But moving too early also carries risks, such as adopting technologies or approaches that may not be supported as the market matures.
There is one industry that is leading the foray into developing commercial applications of quantum computing — financial services. Here are three things they’re doing that would behoove every industry to start thinking about.
1. Look for revolutionary opportunities.
Identify “best-case” scenarios for where quantum can change your business. In finance, the speed of quantum has the potential to revolutionize how financial institutions parse and use data to spot trends and patterns.
Where in your business does quantum computing make sense? In the pharmaceutical sector, for example, quantum could dramatically accelerate drug development cycles. In insurance, there’s risk analysis. In retail, there’s customer behavior analysis. In logistics, the immediate opportunity is to solve the “Traveling Salesman” optimization problem, which aims to find the shortest and most cost-effective routes to a series of locations.
Quantum computing has enormous potential to address all these challenges, but there are so-called NISQ (noisy, intermediate-stage quantum) technologies becoming available today that can begin to bridge the gap.
2. Consider security as a point of entry.
Using quantum technologies like QKD (quantum key distribution) or PQC (post-quantum cryptography) represents a great starter niche for security. When it comes to the majority of applications, PQC will likely be the technology of choice to secure e-commerce transactions. But for a quantum internet and security, which already requires a fiberoptic network and entangled photons, QKD will likely be part of that infrastructure for those types of applications.
You don’t want to discount either of these options, especially when there are applications that can be used today on top of your existing IT infrastructure.
3. Understand the quantum opportunity.
Here again, we can look to financial services firms like JPMorgan and Wells Fargo for early adopter behaviors like hiring quantum visionaries and investing in research and development to not only stay abreast of what’s happening on the quantum front, but to lead. See my previous Forbes Technology Council article, “Quantum Commercialized: Financial Services Likely First Industry to Take Advantage” for more on this topic.
Business leaders are also examining their most precious commodity — their data. The sheer volume of data is probably going to bog down the internet in a few short years, and every company in every industry is at risk when it comes to keeping their data safe. You need to use this time to understand the value of your data — its shelf life, its PII (personal identifiable information) content, and so on — so that when the time comes to apply quantum solutions, your data is set to respond.
To add on to a quote attributed to the great Arnold Palmer, “timing is everything in life and in golf" — and in quantum computing. Tomorrow’s winners will be today’s early adopters who have started to think about how they'll make their companies quantum-ready.
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