What’s All the Hype Around Quantum Computing and Why Should You Care?

Quantum computing has gone from theoretical promise to real-world momentum. With major breakthroughs from companies like Microsoft and Google, we're rapidly approaching an era where quantum computers could outperform traditional machines in ways that are nearly guaranteed to disrupt everything — including encryption. 

In this blog, we'll break down what quantum computing means for cybersecurity, why it’s a problem worth acting on now, and how Cyolo is leading the way with the first end-to-end quantum-safe remote privileged access solution for operational technology (OT) and cyber-physical systems (CPS).

The Threat: Quantum Computers Will Break Today’s Encryption 

Most of the encryption protecting the internet today, from HTTPS connections to corporate VPNs, rely on the fact that certain math problems take too long to solve. For example: 

• RSA is hard to break because factoring large numbers is slow. 

• Diffie–Hellman relies on the difficulty of discrete logarithms. 

• ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) uses the same principle on elliptic curves for better efficiency. 

These problems are tough for classical computers. But quantum computers play by different rules.

Thanks Shor’s algorithm, an algorithm that was developed in the 1990s and has implications that stretch far beyond mathematics, a sufficiently advanced quantum computer could solve these problems dramatically faster, rendering today’s encryption breakable in hours rather than centuries or even decades. For example: 

Now, we’re not there yet, but we’re getting close. In 2025, a Chinese research group used a quantum computer to factor a small RSA key. It wasn’t a threat to real-world security, but it was a proof-of-concept that the theory works. 

Meanwhile, vendors are pushing the hardware forward: 

• Microsoft’s Majorana 1 introduced topological qubits, a more stable, scalable approach to quantum computing. 

• Google’s Willow performed a quantum calculation in under five minutes that would take a classical supercomputer more than 10 septillion years. (Yes, that's 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000!)

Experts estimate that within 10-20 years, quantum computers could pose a real threat to widely used encryption. 

“Store Now, Decrypt Later” 

But here’s the catch: attackers don’t need to wait 10 years to act. 

Many are already harvesting encrypted data today — everything from banking records to internal communications to customer data — with plans to decrypt it later once quantum computers become capable. It’s called “store now, decrypt later.” 

What this means is that any sensitive information you’re transmitting or storing now could be exposed down the line — even if it's encrypted with today's best-practice algorithms. 

So if your data needs to stay private for a decade or more, this is no longer a theoretical risk.  

The Way Forward: Post-Quantum Cryptography 

Thankfully, the cryptographic community has been preparing. Researchers have developed quantum-resistant algorithms that rely on math problems so difficult that even quantum computers struggle with them. 

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has selected its first batch of post-quantum cryptographic standards: 

• ML-KEM (Kyber) for secure key exchange 

• Dilithium for digital signatures 

These new algorithms are designed to withstand both classical and quantum attacks, and they’re beginning to make their way into mainstream protocols. 

A few major browser vendors are already integrating post-quantum encryption into their products: 

• Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge support hybrid key exchange (X25519 + Kyber-768) starting in version 124; enabled by default from version 131. 

• Mozilla Firefox added experimental support in version 132 (available via about:config). 

End-to-End Quantum Safety 

Cyolo PRO (Privileged Remote Operations) is the first access solution to deliver end-to-end post-quantum encryption, securing every stage of access: from user authentication, through tunnel establishment, to final application communication. 

As of version 6.24, all Cyolo PRO components support hybrid cryptographic handshakes using X25519 combined with ML-KEM (Kyber-768), aligned with NIST’s standards. This capability is built into all major components of the platform. 

Cyolo PRO also gives administrators a policy control knob to enforce quantum-safe encryption either across all client traffic or just for specific applications. This makes it easy to roll out stronger encryption where it matters most, without overhauling every system at once. 

In short, it’s a practical, actionable path to quantum readiness.