{"id":107258,"date":"2025-07-17T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T12:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forescoutstage.wpengine.com\/?p=107258"},"modified":"2025-07-23T13:01:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T17:01:33","slug":"the-future-of-encryption-in-a-quantum-cryptography-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forescout.com\/blog\/the-future-of-encryption-in-a-quantum-cryptography-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Encryption in a Quantum Cryptography World"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is an imminent need for cryptography and detection practices to level up for what\u2019s about to happen. Quantum computing is getting closer and closer to being used in the enterprise and by bad actors.<\/p>\n

Some reports have it as early as next year. A recent Omdia study<\/a> from manufacturers found nearly 40% expect their customers to begin using quantum for operational purposes\u00a0in 2026, according to IoT World.<\/p>\n

How fast true adoption will take is debatable, but the advances in quantum computing speeds are a ludicrous force multiplier for complex supercomputing and operations. What was once only in the hands of the military-industrial complex and academia will soon find a home in commercial use \u2013 in business and in critical infrastructure. We\u2019re talking processing speeds of 100 million times faster or more.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s more to it than that \u2013 there are \u2018qubits\u2019 that exist in superposition and can be both 0 and 1 simultaneously. Along with entanglement and quantum tunneling, quantum machines process complex calculations at speeds unattainable by classical computers.<\/p>\n

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The Benefits and Dangers of Quantum Cryptography<\/h2>\n

Quantum is fantastic news for business applications. Think AI use and adoption. But it has serious implications for the security of your business. Quantum computing \u00a0will allow the brute-force decryption of today\u2019s cryptographic models, primarily PKI (which is used by 99% of communications today).<\/p>\n

Cracking hashed passwords is already a cybersecurity issue as newer chips continue to blow away today\u2019s processing speeds. Hive Systems suggests<\/a> with a big budget to spend on the most advanced Nvidia chips, a complex 8-character password with numbers, upper\/lowercase letters, and symbols could be cracked in as little as 3 months. A numbers-only password with the right processing could be cracked instantly. This is without today\u2019s quantum speeds.<\/p>\n

Even if sensitive data remains secure now, it could be vulnerable in the future if it retains its value over time \u2014 a concept known as \u2018long-term confidentiality\u2019. For example, diplomatic communications, military intelligence, and proprietary corporate information could all be at risk.<\/p>\n

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What About PKI?<\/h2>\n

Today\u2019s encryption standard, PKI, still matters and will continue to matter in the future but it will diminish in its ability to be trusted. \u00a0Certificates, certificate authorities, and TLS will still rely on PKI but other technologies like SKA or post-quantum key exchange platforms will likely become a trend. PKI updates to the key exchange and the signature algorithms will be needed to ensure they are quantum safe which is a tall task for the 10B+ connected devices in the world<\/p>\n

Today, PKI has an implied sense of security. The verification process is deemed secure by today\u2019s standards because it used to take thousands of years for a traditional computer to factor such a large number.<\/p>\n

But are you sure you can fight off quantum calculation speeds? The time to act is here.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Based on what we\u2019ve been watching for many years, this security challenge is problematic. Data and secure communications as we know it are absolutely at risk because of the \u2018harvest now, decrypt later\u2019 <\/strong>movement courtesy of nation-state actors.<\/p>\n

There are four key actions in play today:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Demand and competition for AI and its market share are driving quantum computing<\/li>\n
  2. Huge volumes of data are being exfiltrated now<\/li>\n
  3. In less than a year, quantum is expected to be \u2018useful and operational<\/a>\u2019<\/li>\n
  4. Despite availability, not nearly enough organizations are using the right defenses<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The good news? Everyone can prepare to minimize the harm. And most importantly, there are innovative solutions, today, that are here to help. Let\u2019s explore the ideas and innovation behind Forescout\u2019s Quantum Safe Security Assurance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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    Encryption History: Why It Matters<\/h2>\n

    Encryption has been used for a very long time \u2013 and it has been an effective defensive mechanism. It was born out of the need for intelligence agencies to send secret messages. It essentially wraps or converts information into secret code that hides the information’s true meaning. The science of encrypting and decrypting this data is cryptography.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    In the early 1970s, the internet was tested and adopted by the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. military \u2013 with work from engineers in academia. This was way before it became the engine of business that it is today. Systems for encryption made by the private sector, such as RSA, began in the late 1970s. Encryption continued to evolve in IT practices with the major adoption of TLS 1.0 using RSA and ECC in 1999 \u2014 and the explosion of consumer and business use of the internet.<\/p>\n

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    Key Discoveries in the Evolution of Quantum Cryptography<\/h2>\n