Almost every digital process your organisation runs (e-mail, VPN, online banking, software updates, signed documents) relies on public-key cryptography such as RSA and elliptic curves. A sufficiently powerful quantum computer will be able to break these methods. Nobody knows exactly when that day comes. But the migration to quantum-safe cryptography takes years, and regulators have started the clock.
Why this matters today, not in ten years
The most immediate risk is called harvest now, decrypt later: attackers intercept and store encrypted data today, so they can decrypt it once quantum computers are powerful enough. Any information that must stay confidential for many years (contracts, health data, intellectual property, financial records, personal data) is already exposed to this risk.
A second risk concerns trust: digital signatures protect software updates, identities and documents. If signatures can be forged in future, long-lived systems and devices that cannot easily be updated become a weak point.
The new standards are ready
In August 2024, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published the first post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards. Researchers from IBM's research lab in Switzerland co-developed algorithms that became part of these standards. In other words: the "what" is largely settled. Now it's about the "how" and "when".
The timeline: Europe sets 2030 as the key date
In June 2025, the EU published a coordinated roadmap for the transition to post-quantum cryptography:
- By the end of 2026: organisations should take first steps: risk analysis, awareness and cryptographic inventories.
- By the end of 2030: high-risk use cases and critical infrastructure should be migrated.
- By 2035: as many remaining systems as feasible should follow.
Switzerland is not bound by the EU roadmap, but Swiss organisations working with EU partners, in regulated sectors or along European supply chains will feel the same pressure. The Swiss Federal Office for Cybersecurity (BACS/NCSC) has published its own assessment of the need for action and recommends hybrid modes during the transition, combining classical and post-quantum algorithms.
Five practical first steps
1. Build a cryptographic inventory
You can't migrate what you can't see. Identify where cryptography is used: applications, certificates, protocols, libraries, devices, cloud services and the software vendors behind them. This is closely related to Software Asset Management: a good software inventory is the best starting point.
2. Prioritise by data lifetime and business impact
Not everything needs to move at once. Start with data that must stay confidential the longest and with systems that are hard to change, such as embedded devices, long-term archives and public key infrastructure (PKI).
3. Ask your vendors for their quantum roadmap
Much of your cryptography sits in third-party products. Ask your key vendors when and how they will support the new standards, and factor this into renewals and procurement decisions.
4. Design for crypto-agility
Make sure algorithms and certificates can be replaced without rebuilding applications. Crypto-agility is what turns the next change from a multi-year project into routine maintenance.
5. Pilot hybrid approaches
Test post-quantum and hybrid algorithms in non-critical areas first, measure performance and compatibility, and adapt your key management processes.
How iTsources can help
Our Quantum Readiness Check combines our Software Asset Management expertise with enterprise tooling (including IBM Quantum Safe) to give you a clear picture of where vulnerable cryptography sits in your environment and a prioritised roadmap for what to do first.
Learn about the Quantum Readiness Check →
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