Thales Survey Indicates European Organizations Planning to Offset Quantum Computing Threats But Have False Sense of Current Security

(OAOA)  New insights from Thales reveals that European organisations have a false sense of security when it comes to protecting themselves today, with only two-thirds (68%) seeing themselves as vulnerable, down from nine in ten (86%) in 2018. This confidence flies in the face of the findings of the survey of 509 European executives which reveals over half (52%) of organisations were breached or failed a compliance audit in 2019, raising concerns as to why a fifth (20%) intend to reduce data security spend in the next year.
Nevertheless, many European organisations are starting to turn their attention to peril that the acceleration of computing power, quantum, could bring to them. In fact, almost all (93%) respondents are concerned quantum computing will lead to exploits being created that could expose the sensitive data they hold. What’s more, seven in 10 (69%) European organisations expect quantum to affect their cryptographic operations in the next five years.
As a result, most organisations are reacting, with a third (31%) planning to offset quantum computing threats by switching away from static encryption or symmetric cryptography. Furthermore, a similar amount (30%) plans to implement key management that supports quantum safe random number generator.
“It is clear that businesses are aware of evolving threats they face and it’s reassuring to see them acknowledging some of the key steps they need to take – including moving away from static encryption and implementing quantum-proof key management. It’s critical, though, that organisations don’t just look at threats years away, but invest in their cybersecurity processes now and see it as an integral part of their digital transformation,”Elliss concluded.