Meg Gleason Featured in Cybersecurity Insiders: Quantum Computers to Break Encryption in 2027

Circulating headlines and announcements all raise the question: when will quantum computers break encryption? In a recent article in Cybersecurity Insiders, Meg Gleason, Chief of Staff at QuSecure, writes that organizations are overly focused on predicting “Q-Day” instead of addressing the risks that already exist today.

Key Takeaways

• Organizations need to prioritize what data must remain secure, rather than waiting for consensus on timelines.
• Encryption doesn’t fail on a single day: with “harvest now, decrypt later”, sensitive data encrypted today can already be collected for future decryption when the capability exists.
• The signal to begin post-quantum migration is now, before the window for low-friction preparation is gone.

Why This Matters

Google’s timeline for transitioning to post-quantum cryptography is 2029. This article uses 2027 as an intentionally arbitrary anchor, which could have been 2026 or 2031. The real issue isn’t the date. Organizations naturally latch onto these targets to justify planning. However, this creates a false sense of certainty that action can wait until a specific time. The question is no longer when quantum will arrive, but what organizations are doing today to protect their data.