Crypto Agility: Preparing Your Business for Quantum Security Threats

All You Need to Know About Crypto Agility

Is my business exposed if quantum computers crack old encryption?

Are my current security tools ready to switch to new algorithms, or am I stuck patching forever? Leaders across the industries are encountering these questions every other day.

Google just proved that breaking RSA-2048 encryption now needs 20 times fewer resources than before. What once seemed impossible now requires just one million qubits running for a week. Meanwhile, China has slashed quantum computing error rates to a record 0.000015%, fast-tracking practical quantum hardware.

The threat isn't theoretical anymore. Harvest now, decrypt later (HNDL) attacks are happening right now, cybercriminals are capturing your encrypted data today, waiting to unlock it when quantum capability arrives. AES-128, trusted by banks and businesses worldwide, loses half its strength against quantum brute force.

With tech advancements smurfing at a lightning speed every business and bank that cares about privacy, trust, and long-term survival must wake up!

What is Crypto Agility

Crypto agility is the ability for any organization to swiftly adapt encryption methods and protocols in response to new threats, especially those posed by quantum computing. The numbers speak clearly:

• Market size for quantum-safe cryptography is forecast at $1.7 billion in 2024, rising to $33.2 billion by 2034.
• 70% of global demand will come from enterprises, with BFSI alone accounting for 30%.

For CXOs, crypto agility is not a technical luxury, it is a strategic investment.

Who Needs Crypto Agility

Crypto agility is not exclusive to banks and large cloud providers. Any organization, regardless of industry or size, that stores, processes, or transmits sensitive or personal data should rapidly adjust its encryption. 46% of enterprise encrypted data is quantum-vulnerable especially industries mentioned below:

• Healthcare: Patient records, research data, medical devices
• Banking & Finance: Payment rails, customer data, trading systems
• Government: National security, citizen data, infrastructure control
• Telecom: Network security, customer communications, infrastructure
• Defence: Strategic secrets, communication systems, weapon controls
• Automotive: Connected vehicles, safety systems, customer data
• Retail: Payment processing, customer information, supply chains

If you collect emails, process payments, or store any personal information, quantum computers will eventually threaten your security.

Why CXOs Need to Act Now

Google’s recent research shows that the resources required to break RSA-2048 encryption have fallen twenty-fold because of Shor’s Algorithm, while Chinese researchers have cut quantum error rates to record lows.

This progress means what once seemed decades away could now be possible within years. Meanwhile, attackers are actively engaging in Harvest Now, Decrypt Later (HNDL), stealing encrypted data today, waiting to unlock it once quantum capability matures.  

RSA and ECC are no longer future-proof, and quantum computers are on pace to break them before most businesses have migrated to quantum-safe cryptography

Crypto agility enables organisations not only to defend against these threats but also to comply with evolving regulatory frameworks.

Q-Day Timeline: The Race Against Risk

Expected Q-Day (when quantum computers will easily break in the current encryption) is around 2030, not 2040 as previously believed. RSA-2048 vulnerability is now crackable in days with under a million qubits

69% of organizations believe quantum will break current encryption in 5 years yet only 5% are deploying quantum-safe solutions.

NIST Quantum Standards: Your New Security Rulebook

Legacy encryptions like RSA, ECC, DSA, Diffie-Hellman are now officially not quantum-safe.  

The leaders have to switch to post-quantum cryptography solutions as discussed below. Regulators are already signalling urgency:

• RBI & SEBI mandate robust cryptographic controls and periodic reviews of emerging risks, implicitly including quantum threats.
• NIST has finalised post-quantum standards such as FIPS 203 (ML-KEM) and FIPS 204 (ML-DSA).

Enterprises that fail to prepare risk not only data exposure but also compliance penalties.

Compliance with Crypto Agility

Cryptographic Controls

RBI mandates regulated entities implement robust cryptographic mechanisms, currently framed around existing standards (AES, RSA, ECC). However, these guidelines implicitly require adaptation to emerging threats.

Cybersecurity Policy & Risk Management

Entities must periodically assess emerging risks—including quantum threats, though not explicitly named. The regulatory writing is on the wall.

Crypto Agility Requirements

While not formally defined, the need for adaptable cryptographic frameworks is implied in RBI's whitepaper on quantum computing risks. Recent SEBI guidelines hint at stricter requirements coming.

46% of enterprise encrypted data is quantum-vulnerable, compliance failures could trigger significant penalties when regulations tighten.

The Migration Blueprint: 7 Steps for Quantum Enterprise Readiness

1. Engage Standards Organizations: Monitor NIST, DHS, FIPS and global standards. CIOs should be aware of updates to algorithms and protocol changes. These standards will only get stronger over time. Start internal workshops for all. Allow 4-6 weeks for this step. Create a real-time dashboard for regulatory updates and build an agile strategy.
2. Inventory Critical Data: Map all at-risk assets, from bank ledgers to health records and source code. Classify by quantum vulnerability and compliance needs. Document every crypto technology being used, across every system:
   • Infrastructure
   • Applications
   • Cloud
   • Third-party platforms (Include types of algorithms and key sizes where applicable.)
3. Inventory Cryptographic Technologies: Scan infrastructure, applications, and cloud. Document every algorithm, key size, and dependency. Update SBOM/IBOM for integration and audit.
4. Update Internal Standards: Revise procurement, cybersecurity policies, and compliance frameworks to meet PQC and QKD requirements. Grab existing asset inventories, logs, and audits. Make sure that Software Bill-of-Materials (SbOMs) and Infrastructure Bill-of-Materials (IbOMs) are current.  
5. Identify Public Key Cryptography Assets: Identify what internal policies, acquisition rules, cybersecurity standards require updating for quantum safety. Provide a lucid report with recommendations for revisions. From your inventory, identify every asset utilising public key cryptography. Tag all quantum-vulnerable systems: infra, apps, cloud, partners. Document as an impact analysis.
6. Prioritize Systems for Crypto Migration: Use weighted scoring matrices to prioritize migration—core banking, payment processing, health records first; mobile and archives next.
   • Purpose
   • Key stores and passwords
   • Personal information
   • System integrations
   • Third-party connections
   • Data storage and retention policies.
7. Plan Quantum Transition: Phase migration: critical systems (0-6 months), core infra (6-12), extended apps (12-18), third-party/vendor integrations (18-24). Hybrid classical/quantum solutions ensure asset safety during transition.
   • List the systems you identified as susceptible to quantum vulnerability, based on organizational value: high, medium and low.
   • Write a plan to migrate systems from your readiness list to new systems.
   • Create a plan to obtain information for all systems.
   • Incorporate all 3rd party providers to work together for the transition.
   • Establish a way to maintain oversight and governance of budgets, progress, change management, support, and risk.

How QNu Labs Help You Win Cryptoagility

CXOs often ask: “How do we actually move from awareness of the quantum threat to a practical, future-proof solution?”

This is where QNu Labs bridges the gap turning strategy into execution.

QNu Labs is the world’s only full-stack cybersecurity company delivering hybrid quantum resilience, combining hardware innovation with post-quantum cryptography (PQC) software. This approach creates a multi-layered, crypto-agile defence that adapts as threats evolve.

Our portfolio includes:

• Tropos – Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG): Generates truly random numbers using the laws of quantum physics, ensuring unbreakable cryptographic keys.
• Armos – Quantum Key Distribution (QKD): Provides secure key generation, distribution, and management over existing fibre infrastructure, already trusted by defence, enterprises, and government networks.
• Hodos – Post-Quantum Cryptography Platform: A crypto-agile command centre that gives full visibility and control over cryptographic assets while enabling smooth migration to NIST-backed post-quantum algorithms.
• QShield™ – Hybrid Security Platform: Integrates Tropos, Armos, and Hodos into a single crypto-agile ecosystem, protecting assets across data centres, cloud, IoT, networks, and edge environments.

The QNu Advantage

• End-to-end quantum-safe security (hardware + software).
• Crypto agility by design, ensuring future-proof compliance with NIST, DHS, RBI, and SEBI.
• Quantum-safe solutions that comply with NIST, NCCoE, DHS, CISA, and AWS guidance.
• Zero-touch key management and seamless integration with existing infrastructure.
• Indigenous innovation, built and tested for global reliability.

Together, these solutions form what we call “The Strategic Quantum Resilience Ecosystem.

Don’t panic, prepare for the future to keep your critical assets safe. Prioritize mitigation plans, and produce ongoing risk reports. Invest in technology that isn’t just different but built for what’s next. With QNu Labs, crypto agility is not just a roadmap, it is an operational reality. We help enterprises move from risk to resilience, making their organisation quantum-safe for today, and future.

Our indigenous solutions are designed to meet real global challenges—built and tested for reliability, integrated easily, and ready for tomorrow’s threats. If you want security that adapts and endures.  

QNu stands as a strategic trusted partner, because we know that when trust is scarce, being both non-consensus and right isn’t just an advantage, it’s a responsibility.

FAQs  

What is crypto agility in simple terms?
It is the ability of an organisation to update its encryption quickly as threats evolve, especially against quantum computers.

When will quantum computers break RSA and ECC?
Estimates suggest around 2030, but progress in quantum hardware may accelerate this timeline.

Which industries are most at risk?
BFSI, telecom, defence, government, healthcare, and automotive—all sectors handling sensitive data.

How can my business start crypto agility today?
Begin with an inventory of your cryptographic assets, identify vulnerabilities, and adopt hybrid solutions (PQC + QKD).

How is QNu Labs different?
QNu offers an indigenous, hybrid approach that combines PQC with QKD, integrates easily into existing networks, and aligns with both Indian and global compliance standards.