How has quantum moved out of the research lab and into the boardroom?

PwC’s Leonard McAuliffe explores the changing quantum landscape and how organisations need to evolve in tandem.

“The biggest shift we’ve seen this year is that quantum has moved out of the research lab and into the boardroom,” explained Leonard McAuliffe, a partner for cybersecurity and privacy at PwC Ireland.

He told SiliconRepublic.com, “The hardware is improving faster than most people expected, particularly on error correction and qubit quality and quantum-inspired tools are already helping in areas like logistics and finance.

“From a security perspective, the most important development is around standards. NIST has finalised its quantum-safe algorithms and the US, UK and EU are now setting timelines for moving to post-quantum cryptography. Quantum is no longer a watching brief for any organisation.”

But how do you develop a workforce that is equipped to deal with the demands of an industry that is rapidly evolving, despite being in relative infancy?

McAuliffe finds that in the broad scheme of things you don’t necessarily need the entire workforce to understand the physics of quantum. Rather, you need to ensure that there is the right level of understanding across the right teams and departments.

He said, “Boards and senior leaders need to grasp the risk, in particular ‘harvest now, decrypt later’, where attackers steal encrypted data today and hold onto it until they can decrypt it.

“For security and technology teams, it’s more practical. They need to know where cryptography is used across the organisation and how to plan the move to quantum-safe alternatives. The majority of organisations don’t have a clear picture of where their cryptography sits, so that is usually the first gap to close.”

Earlier in the month, Mark Hopkins , a managing director at Dell Technologies Ireland, explored the deep-tech theme and how Ireland has an opportunity to carve out an advantageous position. He suggested that Ireland should refocus its efforts away from the entire AI stack and instead pay particular attention to key areas.

Similarly, McAuliffe finds that, when it comes to advancing and innovating in the quantum era, Ireland’s economy is “both uniquely exposed and uniquely positioned”.

He said, “Pharma, a core pillar of the Irish economy, could shorten drug discovery cycles, financial services could see breakthroughs in risk modelling, optimisation and fraud detection, while manufacturing and supply chain-intensive sectors stand to benefit from quantum-enabled optimisation.

“However, the most significant impact is on security and that cuts across every industry. Quantum computers will be capable of breaking the public-key cryptography that underpins secure online banking, medical records, digital signatures, remote access and supply chain integrity.”

PwC previously published the ‘ 2027 Global Digital Trust Insights Survey ’ that found only 17pc of Irish business and information security leaders agree that cyber risk is integrated into their organisation’s enterprise risk management processes, compared with 41pc globally.

In line with McAuliffe’s insights regarding organisational readiness, the report found that when it comes to quantum security, only 6pc of Irish respondents are implementing quantum-resistant measures, compared to 21pc globally.

There is pressure, he finds, to ensure that the more heavily regulated sectors are prepared, as the failure to do so could lead to major issues down the line.

For “sectors such as finance, healthcare, energy and telecoms, a quantum-readiness gap may soon constitute a compliance breach, not just a technical issue.”

He concluded “It’s a business continuity, legal, regulatory and reputational issue for every board. Early adopters will gain an advantage, while those who wait risk being exposed.”