Earlier this year, our chief technology officer (CTO) of data security, Walid Rjaibi, outlined his perspective on the risks that quantum computers might pose to cybersecurity, particularly concerning common algorithms used in encryption. He astutely observed, however, that the risks are only one part of the story.

Quantum computing also has the potential to revolutionize our cybersecurity capabilities.

How Will Quantum Computing Enhance Cybersecurity?

According to a new IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) paper, the two most notable areas of cybersecurity that quantum computing promises to enhance are machine learning and quantum number generation.

Machine learning is already a widely used and understood term in the cybersecurity world. We use machine learning capabilities today in security information and event management (SIEM), data protection, incident response and other solutions to improve behavior anomaly detection, classification and prediction capabilities. Given their improved speed and power, quantum computers have the potential to enhance the efficacy of machine learning when used for cybersecurity pursuits.

Random number generation is a key component of cryptography (pun intended). Classical random number generation can be split into two categories: pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs) and true random number generators (TRNGs). TRNGs are more suitable for generating strong encryption keys (you can read more about why in the IBV paper). Quantum random number generators (QRNGs) would be a special subset of TRNGs, which exploit the inherent randomness of quantum physics to generate even more random sequences of numbers, thus stronger encryption keys.

Download the complete IBM IBV paper: Preparing Cybersecurity Now for a Quantum World

Cybersecurity: Why the Sky Isn’t Falling

As you may have learned at Think 2018, despite the risks quantum computing may pose to cybersecurity, the sky is not falling. There are many measures organizations can take to safeguard their critical data today and in the future.

For example, doubling the key size of existing symmetric encryption algorithms can help companies prepare for how the cybersecurity landscape may change when large-scale quantum computers become available. Beyond that, the improvements quantum computing could potentially bring to cybersecurity will also contribute to stronger protection capabilities.

To learn more about the cybersecurity implications of quantum computing and how you can prepare for the future, download our recent paper from the IBM IBV, “Wielding a Double-Edged Sword: Preparing Cybersecurity Now for a Quantum World.”

More from Data Protection

Vulnerability resolution enhanced by integrations

2 min read - Why speed is of the essence in today's cybersecurity landscape? How are you quickly achieving vulnerability resolution?Identifying vulnerabilities should be part of the daily process within an organization. It's an important piece of maintaining an organization’s security posture. However, the complicated nature of modern technologies — and the pace of change — often make vulnerability management a challenging task.In the past, many organizations had to support manual integration work to get different security systems to ‘talk’ to each other. As…

Cost of a data breach 2023: Geographical breakdowns

4 min read - Data breaches can occur anywhere in the world, but they are historically more common in specific countries. Typically, countries with high internet usage and digital services are more prone to data breaches. To that end, IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023 looked at 553 organizations of various sizes across 16 countries and geographic regions, and 17 industries. In the report, the top five costs of a data breach by country or region (measured in USD millions) for 2023…

Cost of a data breach 2023: Pharmaceutical industry impacts

3 min read - Data breaches are both commonplace and costly in the medical industry.  Two industry verticals that fall under the medical umbrella — healthcare and pharmaceuticals — sit at the top of the list of the highest average cost of a data breach, according to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023. The health industry’s place at the top spot of most costly data breaches is probably not a surprise. With its sensitive and valuable data assets, it is one of…

Cost of a data breach 2023: Financial industry impacts

3 min read - According to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023, the global average cost of a data breach in 2023 was $4.45 million, 15% more than in 2020. In response, 51% of organizations plan to increase cybersecurity spending this year. For the financial industry, however, global statistics don’t tell the whole story. Finance firms lose approximately $5.9 million per data breach, 28% higher than the global average. In addition, evolving regulatory concerns play a role in how financial companies…