Quantum computing is rapidly moving from theory to reality – and with it comes the power to break today’s cryptographic systems. The timeline for viable quantum machines is accelerating, with Google recently revealing it could be as little as five years before practical quantum applications become a part of everyday life. While the potential of quantum computing is exciting, it also yields significant risks. As the post-quantum future nears, the window for enterprises to address those risks is rapidly closing.
The urgency is compounded by the rise of generative AI, growing digitization, and our increasing dependence on mobile-first ecosystems – where 92% of apps still rely on insecure encryption. At the same time, cryptographic sprawl has taken root: encryption keys, certificates, and secrets are scattered across decentralized, cloud-heavy environments with little visibility or governance.
In this complex new environment, enterprises face a stark choice: evolve or fall behind. Preparing for the quantum shift begins with rethinking cryptographic management, starting with visibility, centralization, and agility. The time to act is now.
Combating the Cryptographic Sprawl
Before defending against quantum threats, enterprises must tackle a more immediate challenge: cryptographic sprawl.
As digital transformation accelerates, cryptographic assets – including keys, certificates, and secrets – have spread across cloud environments, mobile devices, and internal systems. Many remain unmanaged, untracked and forgotten. Most companies lack real-time visibility into where these credentials live, whether they’re still valid, or if they comply with internal policies. For example, machine identities currently outpace the human workforce by a ratio of 45 to 1, generating a large attack surface that leaves organizations vulnerable to cyberattacks. This explosion of digital identities has dramatically expanded today’s attack surface, making visibility into the cryptographic estate essential.
The ability to protect your environment starts with understanding it. Without a comprehensive inventory of cryptographic assets, organizations can’t identify vulnerabilities or prepare for a seamless migration to post-quantum cryptography. Closing the visibility gap is the first and most critical step toward crypto-agility — and long-term resilience.
Achieving Crypto-Agility
With visibility into cryptographic assets established, organizations can shift gears to prioritize crypto-agility. This refers to an organization’s ability to rapidly pivot encryption methods and key management processes as new vulnerabilities emerge or regulations change. In a world where quantum threats evolve faster than most companies can react, crypto-agility is no longer optional – it’s essential.
At the heart of agility is automation. Manual processes simply can’t keep up with today’s threat landscape. Automated key rotation, algorithm swaps, and policy enforcement are now the foundation of a resilient cryptographic strategy.
But agility alone isn’t enough. It must be paired with cyber resilience – the ability to anticipate, withstand, and adapt to disruptions, whether powered by AI technologies, quantum computing, or sophisticated state-sponsored attacks. Together, agility and resilience give organizations the speed and stability needed to thrive in an increasingly volatile digital world.
Integrating Siloed Cybersecurity Tools
Even with visibility and agility in place, many enterprises are held back by fragmented security infrastructures. Siloed cybersecurity tools are no longer enough in a world where cryptographic assets are increasingly being targeted by AI-enhanced attacks.
Fragmented tools and decentralized management not only hinder visibility but also slow the enterprise’s ability to adapt to evolving threats and regulations. Modern adversaries — often armed with AI-enhanced attack methods — are targeting these gaps, exploiting unmanaged keys and mismanaged certificates buried in decentralized systems. To close those gaps, organizations need a unified approach to cryptographic management, especially as the cryptographic sprawl continues to grow, expanding the attack surface across cloud environments, mobile endpoints, and IoT devices.
Fortunately, emerging platforms now offer comprehensive visibility across the entire cryptographic estate, allowing teams to monitor keys, certificates and encryption methods in real time. Centralizing control not only streamlines policy enforcement and compliance, but also simplifies the transition to post-quantum cryptography.
By breaking down operational silos and automating key management, organizations can reduce risk, improve agility, and stay ahead of the rapidly shifting threat landscapes.
Preparing for Q-Day isn’t about reacting – it’s about restructuring. Quantum computing will disrupt the cryptographic foundations that enterprises rely on today. The only way to stay ahead is to start now.
The preparation begins with visibility. Organizations must conduct a full audit of their cryptographic assets – keys, certificates, and secrets – across all systems. From there, automation becomes critical. Tools that enable key rotation, algorithm updates, and policy enforcement will reduce manual errors and accelerate readiness.
Quantum disruption is inevitable. The question is not if your cryptography will be tested, but when. Will you be ready?
About the Author
Bhagwat Swaroop is President, Digital Security Solutions at Entrust. He leads the evolution, growth, and expansion of the Entrust Digital Security portfolio. This portfolio is foundational for enabling crucial enterprise security initiatives for Zero Trust architectures supported by identity and data security, and they underpin secure digital interactions around the world.
Swaroop has more than 20 years of leadership experience driving growth in global high-tech companies. He was most recently President and General Manager of One Identity, a cloud-based cybersecurity company. Prior to One Identity, Swaroop was Executive Vice President and General Manager of Proofpoint, leading the company’s email security business; and led the Enterprise Security Solutions product management and product marketing teams at Symantec. Previously he held leadership positions at NetApp, McKinsey, and Intel.
Swaroop holds a BE degree from Delhi Institute of Technology, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
