Dr. Alessandro Curioni, director of IBM Research at Zurich, has warned that sufficiently powerful quantum computers, potentially before the end of the decade, could breach current cryptographic technology, exposing sensitive data including healthcare and financial information, and enabling digital forgery. This event, termed ‘Q-Day’, signifies the moment quantum computers can crack cryptographic keys – complex codes securing data access – with implications for personal banking, financial systems, and national security. Significant investment in quantum computing is currently concentrated in the United States and China, with the potential for the first cryptographically-capable quantum computer originating from any nation investing sufficiently in its development.

Quantum computing poses a serious threat to classical cryptographic algorithms based on computational complexity. Quantum key distribution (QKD), utilizing the principles of quantum mechanics, enables secure key exchange and has been proven to be an essential technology to resist the threat of quantum computing. China attaches great importance to the construction of QKD network to deal with this threat. In 2020, China established an integrated space-to-ground quantum communication network, which includes 32 backbone nodes and 4 metropolitan networks.

Researchers have developed a novel quantum-safe video encryption system combining quantum key distribution with Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols. The approach converts each video frame into a quantum image representation, leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics to generate statistically indistinguishable encrypted video from random noise. This system employs quantum-generated random keys to scramble the quantum image data, offering a significant advancement over traditional encryption methods reliant on mathematical complexity. Furthermore, the implementation incorporates a detection mechanism to alert users to any attempted interception or data access, and transmits the encrypted video within a digitally secured framework, preventing tampering during transit. This research introduces a method to secure video transmissions against potential breaches by future quantum computers, protecting both live streams and recorded content, and represents a step towards robust quantum-resistant communication infrastructure.

At the end of July 2025, the Federal Cabinet adopted the Hightech Agenda Deutschland. The focus is on six key technologies that are strategically important for technological progress – including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Biotechnology, and Quantum Technologies. The agenda aims to strengthen Germany’s innovation and economic strength through targeted investments in these future technologies, securing long-term competitiveness, value creation, and technological sovereignty. This is to be achieved through accelerated research, development, and application, as well as expanding technological capacities in Germany and Europe.

Quantum key distribution offers the promise of unconditionally secure communication, and researchers are now extending this technology beyond the laboratory and into real-world conditions. Tianxiang Zhan, Huasheng Li, Peng Huang, and colleagues demonstrate a significant advance in this field, achieving long-distance quantum key distribution through the open air. The team, spanning institutions including Shanghai Jiao Tong University and CAS Quantum Network Co., Ltd, successfully transmitted secure keys over 7 kilometres inland and 9. 6 kilometres over water, a feat previously hampered by atmospheric interference. This breakthrough, which utilises continuous-variable quantum key distribution without complex spectral filtering, overcomes challenges posed by daylight and turbulence, paving the way for practical satellite-based cryptography and integrated air-ground communication networks.

The security of modern digital communication relies on complex mathematical problems that are difficult for conventional computers to solve. Still, a new demonstration showcases the potential of quantum computers to break these safeguards. Tippeconnic from Arizona State University and colleagues successfully break a 5-bit elliptic curve cryptographic key, a fundamental component of many security systems, using a 133-qubit quantum computer. The team achieves this breakthrough by implementing a quantum algorithm that exploits the unique properties of quantum interference to reveal the secret key without directly encoding it within the computation, a significant step towards assessing the real-world threat posed by quantum computers to current encryption methods. This experiment, performed on an IBM quantum processor, demonstrates the ability to solve a cryptographic problem with a relatively small number of qubits and a surprisingly deep circuit, paving the way for further research into quantum-resistant cryptography.

Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky warns that current encryption methods protecting sensitive data are vulnerable to future decryption by quantum computers, potentially within the next decade. The company identifies a critical risk in the ‘store now, decrypt later’ tactic, where actors harvest encrypted data for future exploitation, and highlights vulnerabilities in blockchain technologies like Bitcoin’s Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm. Kaspersky, protecting over a billion devices and serving 200,000 corporate clients, urges governments, businesses, and infrastructure providers to begin transitioning to post-quantum cryptography now to avoid systemic vulnerabilities.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology launched a national roadmap on Friday to shield its digital economy from emerging quantum computing threats. The initiative, developed with CERT-In and cybersecurity firm SISA, compels public and private organisations to assess vulnerabilities in existing encryption systems and migrate to quantum-resistant algorithms. Experts predict current methods, securing billions of dollars in online transactions, will be compromised within the decade, prompting India to join a growing international effort to fortify cybersecurity against this evolving risk. The plan prioritises sectors including finance, healthcare, and defence, aiming to minimise disruption during the transition to post-quantum security standards.

On 2 July 2025, the European Commission has put forward the Quantum Strategy to make Europe a global leader in quantum by 2030. The Strategy will foster a resilient, sovereign quantum ecosystem that fuels startup growth and transforms breakthrough science into market-ready applications, while maintaining Europe’s scientific leadership.

Orange Business and Toshiba Europe have launched Orange Quantum Defender, the first commercial quantum-safe networking service in Paris, combining Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC). The service is already securing critical data for a major French financial services firm, highlighting its readiness for industries facing quantum-era cybersecurity threats. Built on Orange’s existing fibre network, the system provides multi-layered encryption and aligns with France’s national quantum strategy to protect sensitive data from future quantum decryption risks.