Here is the cybersecurity gap most companies are not ready for: 69% of organizations recognize that quantum computing threatens today’s encryption, but only 5% have implemented quantum-safe encryption. ISACA also found that 55% of enterprises have not taken steps to prepare for quantum computing.

That gap matters because encryption is the invisible trust layer behind modern business. It protects customer data, payment systems, medical records, cloud applications, digital signatures, software updates, websites, connected devices, and internal communications.

For decades, companies have relied on encryption methods such as RSA and elliptic curve cryptography, often called ECC. In simple terms, these are mathematical locks that protect sensitive information and verify digital trust.

Quantum computing threatens to break those locks.

This is not a science fiction problem. In 2024, the National Institute of Standards and Technology finalized its first three post-quantum cryptography standards. These new standards are designed to protect data from future quantum attacks, which is a clear signal that the market is moving from awareness to action.

The Risk Is Already Moving

Many leaders think quantum risk begins only when quantum computers become powerful enough to break encryption.

That view misses the bigger issue.

The immediate threat is called “harvest now, decrypt later.” This means attackers can steal encrypted information today, store it, and decrypt it later when quantum computing becomes powerful enough.

That is especially dangerous for information that must stay private for many years. Think patient records, insurance data, financial transactions, legal documents, government records, product designs, intellectual property, trade secrets, and identity credentials.

A medical record stolen today may still be sensitive 20 years from now. A legal agreement may still matter a decade from now. A product design may remain valuable long after it is created.

So the question is not only, “Can quantum computers break encryption today?”

The better question is, “Is our sensitive data being collected today for future exposure?”

That is why government and cybersecurity agencies are urging organizations to begin preparing now, not later. The UK National Cyber Security Centre has already published a practical migration timeline: define goals and complete discovery by 2028, complete high-priority migration work by 2031, and finish migration by 2035.

The Bigger Problem: Companies Do Not Know Where Their Cryptography Lives

For most organizations, the hardest part of post-quantum readiness is not replacing encryption.

It is finding it.

Cryptography is everywhere. It sits inside websites, mobile apps, cloud systems, certificates, passwords, payment systems, application programming interfaces, software libraries, connected devices, virtual private networks, and third-party platforms.

Many companies do not have a complete inventory of where encryption is used, who owns it, which systems depend on it, and how risky each system is.

That creates a major blind spot.

Before a company can become quantum-safe, it must answer basic questions:

• Which systems use RSA or ECC?

• Which certificates protect critical services?

• Which applications depend on older encryption libraries?

• Which vendors manage cryptography on our behalf?

• Which data must remain confidential for 10, 15, or 20 years?

• Which systems may break if encryption methods change?

Without those answers, companies are not planning a migration. They are searching in the dark.

This is why many organizations need a Cryptographic Bill of Materials, or CBOM. A CBOM is like an inventory list for cryptography. It helps teams understand which certificates, keys, algorithms, software libraries, systems, and dependencies exist across the enterprise.

In plain language, it tells the business: “Here is where our digital locks are, here is what they protect, and here is what needs to change.”

This Is Not a Simple Technology Upgrade

It is tempting to treat post-quantum cryptography as a normal IT update.

Replace the old encryption. Install the new one. Move on.

But that is not how this transition will work.

Post-quantum cryptography affects the foundation of digital trust. It touches identity systems, certificates, software updates, cloud platforms, hardware security modules, key management systems, vendor products, compliance requirements, and business continuity.

A certificate is what helps a website, application, or device prove it is trustworthy. A key is the secret or mathematical value that helps lock and unlock information. A hardware security module, or HSM, is a secure device used to protect important keys.

All of these may need to be assessed, redesigned, tested, and modernized.

The companies that prepare early will not start with panic. They will start with structure.

They will identify high-risk data. They will build a cryptographic inventory. They will classify systems by business impact. They will test new encryption methods in controlled pilots. They will work with vendors. They will modernize key management. They will build crypto-agility, which simply means the ability to change encryption methods faster when standards, threats, or regulations evolve.

The Future Issue: Crypto Debt

Every company understands technical debt.

The next major category is crypto debt.

Crypto debt is the buildup of unknown, outdated, unmanaged, or hardcoded encryption across the business. It hides in legacy applications, old certificates, manual renewal processes, forgotten systems, connected products, outdated software libraries, and vendor-managed platforms.

Crypto debt becomes dangerous when organizations need to move quickly.

A company with a strong cryptographic inventory can prioritize. A company with ownership mapping can assign responsibility. A company with crypto-agility can adapt as standards evolve.

A company without that foundation may lose years simply trying to understand what it has.

How Companies Should Prepare Now

The first step is a post-quantum risk assessment. This connects encryption exposure to real business risk. Not every system has the same urgency. Long-lived sensitive data, customer-facing systems, identity platforms, software signing, payment flows, and regulated environments should receive early attention.

The second step is cryptographic discovery and inventory. Companies need a clear view of certificates, keys, algorithms, libraries, systems, protocols, owners, and dependencies.

The third step is architecture planning. Many organizations will need a hybrid approach during the transition, where today’s encryption and quantum-safe encryption work together until the ecosystem fully matures.

The fourth step is modernization. Public key infrastructure, certificate lifecycle management, key management, and secure hardware need to be prepared for quantum-safe operations.

The final step is enterprise rollout. Pilots, performance testing, vendor coordination, compliance mapping, governance, training, and phased migration planning are essential before broad implementation.

Where Sumeru Helps

Sumeru helps organizations move from quantum awareness to practical post-quantum readiness.

Sumeru’s PQC service groups include post-quantum risk assessment and roadmap development, cryptographic discovery and CBOM creation, quantum-safe architecture and crypto-agility design, PQC integration and migration, public key infrastructure modernization, key management and HSM modernization, and operational readiness for pilots, validation, governance, compliance, and enterprise rollout.

The goal is not simply to replace encryption algorithms.

It is to help organizations understand where cryptographic risk exists, prioritize what matters, modernize the trust layer, and build the agility required for a quantum-safe future.

Because the quantum threat is not waiting for companies to be ready. It is already in motion.