How to secure a "rolling data centre" against the threat of quantum computers?
Picture attribution : Communications of the ACM (external link, opens in new window)
The article explains the complex nature of an impending and industry-wide technology transition that applies to all industries, from finance to healthcare to manufacturing:
"There is a new technology on the horizon that will forever change the information security and privacy industry landscape. Quantum computing, together with quantum communication, will have many beneficial applications but will also be capable of breaking many of today's most popular cryptographic techniques that help ensure data protection in particular, confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information. These techniques are ubiquitously embedded in today's digital fabric and implemented by many industries such as finance, health care, utilities, and the broader information communication technology (ICT) community. It is therefore imperative for ICT executives to prepare for the transition from quantum-vulnerable to quantum-resistant technologies.
This transition will be particularly complex, time-consuming, and expensive for larger organizations with vendor dependencies and/or legacy infrastructure. Hence, it is critical that ICT leaders spend adequate time—now, while they have the luxury to do so—on planning the transition and determining their next steps. Otherwise, they may find their organizations in a chaotic state, scrambling to meet a compliance deadline or to prevent an actual loss of confidentiality or integrity of their, their customer’s, or their partner’s sensitive information. The absence of a well-thought-out plan could result in further delays and security vulnerabilities. Ultimately, it could have drastic implications for their core businesses and bottom lines.
The good news is that security systems not susceptible to quantum attacks (that is, those that are quantum-resistant), can be implemented using today’s classical computers. Organizations will not need quantum computers to resist attacks by another party’s quantum computer. Several algorithms that are mathematically shown to be quantum-resistant already exist."
"Given the serious nature of the threat, the question organizations should be asking is how can the process of transitioning to quantum-resistant systems be accomplished in a timely and cost-effective manner, even as the solutions have yet to be standardized? The industry’s challenge is in migrating to compatible hardware platforms and ensuring the software running up is the reason why quantum computing is a threat to information systems’ security and privacy."
"Threat to Cybersecurity Quantum computing’s main potential threat to information security is in cryptography. Depending on the needs of an organization and its approach to cryptography management, modifications to digital information security systems can range from relatively straightforward, quick, and inexpensive; to massively complex, drawn-out, and costly. The transition to a quantum-resistant state is no exception."
To learn more, see the full article: