EU Warns Quantum Computers Threaten Finance Sector Cryptography

The European Union's banking, insurance, and markets regulators have issued a warning about the potential threat of quantum computers to cryptography. The supervisors said an advanced quantum computer could undermine some of the cryptography systems used to secure communications, transactions, databases, and blockchains.

The EU has recommended member states adopt a post-quantum cryptography migration strategy by the end of 2026. This warning comes from the joint committee of the European Banking Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and the European Securities and Markets Authority.

The threat could materialise 'earlier than any viable commercial application,' meaning a machine capable of breaking encryption may exist before quantum computing is useful for anything else. The report noted that encrypted material does not have to be read at the moment it is stolen. Information gathered now could be decrypted in future, the report said, a practice the industry calls 'harvest now, decrypt later.'

The Digital Operational Resilience Act requires financial entities to adopt state-of-the-art cryptography against emerging threats.