Quantum Risk Is Moving Into The Boardroom. Why Aren’t IT Leaders In The Room?

Several of the world’s most influential businesspeople gathered Friday morning in New York City to discuss the ‘Q-Day’ risk. Based on what unfolded, it seemed the conversation was not meant to include media.

An email sent recently to me invited me to cover what sounded like a high-profile technology event. Highlighted speakers at the event included Canadian businessman and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, private equity executive Grant Cardone, and Fox Business host Charles Payne, among others.

They convened for a Q-Day investment forum to discuss how quantum risk could reshape markets, cybersecurity and enterprise resilience. The event was held at Delmonico’s, the historic Lower Manhattan restaurant that has been a favorite venue for business power brokers.

The event was hosted by Naoris Protocol -- a company that created a decentralized cybersecurity mesh and quantum-resistant Layer 1 blockchain.

Arriving at the location, I made my way into the event area. I did not notice any recognizable media presence or any other technology journalists.

I asked a woman who appeared to be part of the event staff where media should sit. She said she would find out and walked away.

As I sat at one of the white tablecloth-draped tables waiting for her return, a man approached me and said that the organizers decided this was a private event and that there would be no recording the event or note-taking. I left.

A Closed-Door Conversation About An Emerging Risk

The experience was quite puzzling. But it raises a bigger issue:

If quantum computing risk is a significant enough issue to bring some of the world’s most influential and wealthy business and finance leaders to gather on a sweltering Friday morning in Manhattan, why is that conversation not important enough for public consumption?

While Q-Day conversations are clearly now happening in boardrooms, most IT leaders are still determining if this is something they have to prepare and budget for right now.

As MES Computing has previously reported, midsized businesses do need to start paying attention to Q-Day—the time when hackers will begin using quantum computers to break public-key encryption.

That capability could allow threat actors to upend everything from secure communications on websites to compromising digital identities.

But there’s more – threat actors, as MES Computing has reported, are employing “harvest now, decrypt later” data theft tactics in anticipation of accessing sensitive data when Q-Day arrives.

For midmarket enterprises, sensitive data is already at risk.

While there is no confirmed date for Q-Day (and some analysts argue whether an encryption-breaking computer will ever emerge), the possibility is grave enough to bring business top dogs together to discuss.

It’s unfortunate that the event organizers chose to hold a media-unfriendly session.

However, midmarket leaders can start preparing their quantum plans by identifying where in your operations cryptography is used, get a firm grasp on data longevity risk, start asking vendors and partners about quantum risk, and keep track of updated National Institute of Standards and Technology guidance on quantum computing preparation.