C-Suite Readiness for Post-Quantum Cryptography and Emerging Quantum Risk
Enterprise security leaders are split on how urgently to prepare for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as quantum computing remains an uncertain but potentially disruptive threat to widely used public-key algorithms such as RSA. Some CIOs and CISOs characterize quantum as a low near-term priority due to unclear timelines, while others argue preparation is unavoidable and should begin now as a business risk decision rather than a purely technical one.
In healthcare specifically, a PwC survey of 381 global healthcare executives (May–July 2025) found organizations are cutting cybersecurity budgets under financial pressure even as threats intensify, with data protection the top spending driver but only 35% reporting data risk controls across the full data lifecycle (vs. 44% cross-industry). Healthcare leaders cited cloud-related threats, quantum computing risks, and attacks on connected products as areas of lowest preparedness; in pharma/life sciences, more than half reported they have not started quantum-resistant measures, and only 7% plan to allocate budget toward quantum readiness in 2026—highlighting a gap between acknowledged quantum risk and funded mitigation.
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