Post-Quantum Energy: Professor Kai London on Protecting Long-Life Infrastructure From the Quantum Threat
By the Alaska News Technology Desk Professor Kai London — board advisor & interim CISO/CIO/CTO. Credit: professorkailondon.com Energy infrastructure is built to last decades. That longevity, argues Professor Kai London , a senior CISO, makes the sector unusually exposed to a threat still over the horizon: quantum computers capable of breaking today's cryptography. “When your assets and your data have a 20- or 30-year life, the quantum transition is not a distant concern,” he says. “It is a design constraint you must plan for now.” “Post-quantum migration is the rare cyber risk where doing nothing today guarantees you fail later. Data and systems that must stay secure for decades are already exposed.” Harvest now, decrypt later The immediate danger, London explains, is not a future machine but present-day interception. Adversaries can capture encrypted data now and store it until quantum computers can unlock it. “For operators of long-life infrastructure, sensitive design, con...