High–Level Panel: Trust and Security in the Quantum Era

High-Level Panel: Trust and Security in the Quantum Era

16 October 2024 (Wednesday)
Time: 1.00pm to 3.30pm (GMT +8)

In the Quantum era, with the advent of quantum computing comes quantum risks which threaten to undermine the cryptographic foundations upon which digital trust is built, prompting the necessary re-examination of the way digital trust is secured and changes to cryptography and keys used.

The theme for this High-Level Panel Tech event for Quantum is Trust and Security in the Quantum Era, and it will consist of two segments:

Segment I: Securing Trust amidst Quantum Risks
The advent of quantum computing, specifically with Cryptographically Relevant Quantum Computers (CRQCs), heralds an unprecedented computational prowess that introduces significant threats to cybersecurity in breaking existing public key infrastructure (PKI) and encryption systems. While CRQCs are still some years away from being realised, the threat of Harvest Now, Decrypt Later has brought forward the considerations of the need to address these risks today.

These quantum risks threaten to undermine the cryptographic foundations upon which we have built digital trust to compromise digital security and trust and render confidential information vulnerable to malicious exploitation. The world needs to re-examine how we secure digital trust in the quantum era.

This panel aims to stimulate a discussion to explore the current state of and the implications of quantum computing on digital security and trust, and. It will also seek to address the challenges of building awareness and providing suitable advisories for quantum-safe solutions; and identify opportunities for international collaboration amongst governments and industry.

Segment II: Key Changes towards Quantum Safety
The quantum threat is real and there is a need to migrate to quantum safety. The challenge lies in the charting the quantum-safe migration journey, from the key changes to the organisation needs for the migration. These changes can relate to the assets, people, process, technology, and security.

The difficulty is exacerbated by the need to consider and change the crypto keys and algorithms used, often overlooked as they are usually assumed to be the strongest link in the cybersecurity chain.

Following the earlier panel on awareness and advisories relating to the threat and risk, this panel aims to examine the quantum-safe solutions aimed at mitigating these threats, and how assurance in these new solutions can be built. The discussion of the technical challenges in adopting and integrating these solutions will lead into an exchange on how we can chart a course to develop and operationalise quantum-safe solutions and strategies with agility to maintain digital resiliency and secure digital assets against the quantum threat.

Information is accurate at time of publication