On February 7, Europol-led experts in Europe urged the financial sector to proactively prepare for the future threat posed by quantum computers potentially being able to break current encryption methods widely used to safeguard sensitive information.
According to the group, quantum computing advancement could jeopardize customer confidentiality, communication security, authentication procedures, and trust in digital signatures within the financial industry. They emphasized the looming risk, with an estimated timeline of 10 to 15 years for quantum computers to reach this level of capability.
The Quantum Safe Financial Forum, which includes leading institutions such as central banks from the U.S., Europe, and the UK, along with major financial entities like Allianz, Santander, and Mastercard, stressed the necessity for financial establishments to proactively assess vulnerable cryptographic standards, ascertain secure protocols, and devise strategic operational adaptations without the need for new regulations, citing existing EU data protection laws.
With quantum computers utilizing subatomic particles for computing, the Forum underscored the importance for banks and businesses to prepare for potential decryption of stored sensitive data by malicious actors in the future.
Furthermore, the U.S. government has already taken action, setting a target of being "quantum resistant" by 2035 for federal agencies.