Reimagining Cyber - real world perspectives on cybersecurity · Reimagining Cyber

Quantum Is Coming, Are You Ready? - Ep 183

January 7, 2026·20 min·1 clip

Morgan says CISOs must translate quantum risk into business risk or boards will not act.

1. Reimagining Cyber episode 183 focuses on quantum computing as a cybersecurity risk and the 2026 Global Digital Trust Insights Report from PwC. 2. Rob Borrego hosts Morgan Adamski, PwC-US Cyber, Data, and Tech Risk Deputy Leader, and her report findings matter because they come from about 4,000 cyber executives across 72 countries. 3. The episode asks what is real about quantum today and what organizations should do now before quantum-resistant cryptography becomes urgent. 4. Morgan says the survey reflects a volatile geopolitical environment, including conflict in the Middle East, events in Eurasia, and Chinese intrusions into US critical infrastructure. 5. She says organizations are tying cyber investment to resilience because they are unsure how disruption would affect business operations. 6. She contrasts reactive cyber controls with proactive work, describing firewalls and intrusion detection as baseline defense. 7. Morgan defines proactive work as red teaming, vulnerability scanning, decoys, and honeypots that search for weaknesses before an adversary does. 8. Rob links that proactive-versus-reactive framing to quantum computing as a strategic example rather than a current hygiene issue. 9. Morgan explains encrypted communications, asymmetric cryptography, and public key infrastructure as the basis for secure banking and personal data. 10. She says quantum computers could eventually break the math behind those encryption systems, which is why quantum-resistant cryptography matters. 11. Morgan stresses that current quantum computers exist but do not yet have the power to break the relevant encryption. 12. She says the timeline is “really negotiable,” but she also says the quantum computer is coming. 13. Morgan recommends building a roadmap for the next three, five, or seven years rather than treating quantum as a day-one emergency. 14. She says organizations need asset inventory to identify where their infrastructure sits and which systems hold the “crown jewels.” 15. She advises prioritizing high-risk, middle-risk, and low-risk devices, and she notes that updates can break other systems. 16. Morgan says US government agencies have already published algorithms and roadmaps, and she points to national security memorandum 10 for government timelines. 17. She says nation-state actors are likely to be first with quantum capability, with defense contractors, financial institutions, and pharmaceutical companies also moving early. 18. The tone is technical but practical, with Rob repeatedly translating Morgan’s explanations into board-level language and business risk. 19. The format is a structured interview with back-and-forth clarification, concrete examples, and repeated references to the report data. 20. Listeners who manage cyber risk, boards, or sensitive data will get the most value, while listeners wanting a light discussion or a non-technical overview may skip it.

As heard by us

A measured look at quantum risk that keeps the focus on readiness and practical next steps.

The piece treats quantum computing less like science fiction and more like planning work. It argues that organizations need to look ahead now, not because the risk is immediate, but because it is far enough along to justify a roadmap.

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Quantum risk, translated into your next planning steps.

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