Page 227 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2025

Breaking Traditional Encryption Protocols: Quantum Computing

and the Future of Secure Communications

By Joe Guerra,M.Ed. CASP+, CCSP, FedITC,LLC

Introduction

Envision our digital world as a sprawling universe filled with glittering constellations of encrypted data,
each packet of information orbiting in a precisely ordered, mathematically defined trajectory. Our job as
cybersecurity professionals, especially those in Information System Security Officer (ISSO) and
Information System Security Manager (ISSM) roles, is much like the work of cosmic gatekeepers,
ensuring that these celestial bodies of data are protected from the chaos beyond.

For decades, classical cryptography has been the gravitational force holding this digital universe together.
These systems rely on classical bits, which exist in only one of two binary states, a one or a zero, much

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2025 Edition 227
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