Industry navigates uncertain roads on the journey to quantum encryption

The hype cycles that come with emerging technologies can be perilous waters for early adopters and buyers. From the immutable yet seemingly impractical blockchain to artificial intelligence systems that are really just machine learning systems (which in turn are often really just rules-based software with data analytics), it's common for marketing departments to blur the lines between innovation and grift when selling new technologies, and for businesses to get snookered. One field that does appear to have long-term transformative potential is quantum computing and its cybersecurity cousin, quantum code breaking. But before we get started: actual quantum computers are not here. A small group of government-funded labs, industry titans and startups are toiling away, steadily increasing the number of cubic bits – or qubits – their supercomputers are capable of processing each year, but it will likely be a long time before businesses and other organizations can realistically buy one, or unleash its exponential computing power on their organization's problems.