Quantum computing is moving from research debate to business planning. For telecom operators, cloud providers, and enterprise IT teams, the security impact matters now.
The reason is simple. Future quantum machines could break common encryption methods. Those methods protect voice traffic, customer records, APIs, certificates, and collaboration platforms today.
In a UC Today discussion, Chris Harris of Thales warned against waiting. He said quantum risk has changed status across the security industry.
“It’s really the fact that we’ve moved from something that people saw as an if to something that people now understand is a when.”
That shift matters for communications environments. VoIP platforms, UC systems, and contact centers all depend on encryption. They use it to protect calls, messages, identity, and stored data.
However, today’s encryption has not failed yet. Businesses still have time to prepare carefully. The challenge is knowing where cryptography exists across the organization.
This task sounds basic, but it is often difficult. Encryption sits inside applications, databases, devices, cloud tools, and supplier platforms. Many companies lack a full inventory.
Meanwhile, attackers may already be collecting encrypted information. This tactic is often called harvest now, decrypt later. Criminals steal protected data today and store it for future decryption.
Long-life data faces the greatest exposure. This includes medical records, defense information, intellectual property, and regulated customer data. Telecom providers also hold sensitive metadata and identity records.
Government guidance is increasing the pressure. The UK’s NCSC has published migration advice. The U.S. NIST has also standardized post-quantum algorithms.
These standards give vendors a clearer path forward. They also help buyers ask better questions. Enterprises should now request supplier road maps for quantum-safe security.
Yet migration should not become a panic project. Harris presents it as a risk management program. Teams should start with systems that protect long-term sensitive data.
After that, they can test new encryption methods in controlled environments. This approach reduces disruption and supports gradual modernization. It also helps avoid expensive emergency changes later.
“You need to begin understanding where your cryptography lives because everything else depends on that.”
The wider lesson is crypto agility. Businesses should build systems that can change encryption settings quickly. This avoids replacing entire platforms when standards evolve again.
For telecom and IT leaders, quantum readiness supports stronger governance today. It improves asset visibility, supplier oversight, and long-term security planning.
Quantum computers may still be years from mainstream use. But the data at risk already exists. Organizations that act now will face fewer surprises later.
