Harvest Now, Decrypt Later: Preparing for the Quantum Hangover

"The reality is that the quantum threat isn't something organizations will wake up to one day. It's already unfolding quietly in the background through what's known as "harvest-now, decrypt-later" attacks. Adversaries are stealing encrypted data today, fully aware that once quantum capabilities mature, that data will be trivial to decrypt. The risk isn't hypothetical, and it isn't confined to the next decade. It's already started."

"Quantum computing will be the next major shockwave to hit cybersecurity, but its impact won't arrive with a single, dramatic moment. It will surface gradually through exposed intellectual property, compromised national security data, and sensitive customer information that organizations believed was safely locked away. By the time encryption fails, the damage will already be done."

"Unlike ransomware attacks that announce themselves loudly and demand immediate payment, harvest-now campaigns are deliberately patient. Attackers infiltrate networks, often through misconfigured or poorly monitored infrastructure, and quietly exfiltrate large volumes of encrypted data. There's no urgency on their side, no need to monetize the breach today. The value comes later."

Quantum computing poses an immediate cybersecurity threat through harvest-now, decrypt-later attacks where adversaries steal encrypted data today with the intention of decrypting it once quantum capabilities mature. This threat is not hypothetical or confined to the distant future but is actively unfolding. Organizations storing long-term sensitive data, including government agencies, defense contractors, financial institutions, healthcare providers, and critical infrastructure operators, face the highest risk. The quantum threat will not arrive as a single dramatic event but will gradually surface through exposed intellectual property, compromised national security data, and sensitive customer information. Organizations must build quantum resilience across all network layers rather than focusing solely on cryptographic algorithms.

Read at Securitymagazine