Quantum computers aren’t just a future problem — they’re already putting today’s encrypted data at risk. This article explains how the “harvest now, decrypt later” strategy works, why long-term data is vulnerable, and what steps organizations can take now to stay secure in a post-quantum world.

The Quantum Threat Is No Longer Theoretical

Quantum computing is often portrayed as a distant, cutting-edge development. But in the context of cybersecurity, its impact is already relevant today.

How? Through a tactic known as “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later”.

This strategy is used by attackers who intercept and store encrypted data now—with the goal of decrypting it in the future, once quantum computers are powerful enough to break traditional encryption schemes such as RSA-2048.

Encrypted emails, financial records, sensitive communications, or medical data might seem secure today—but if intercepted and stored, they could be exposed in the coming years once quantum computing becomes capable of breaking widely used cryptographic algorithms.

Who Is at Risk?

This growing threat affects any organization handling data that needs to remain confidential over long periods of time. Especially at risk are:

• Government agencies – long-term classified information, diplomatic communication
• Finance & insurance – customer data, transactions, audit trails
• Healthcare & life sciences – patient records, pharmaceutical IP, genomic research
• Critical infrastructure & industrial sectors – blueprints, control systems, logistics data

For these sectors, even a breach that occurs years from now can have devastating legal, economic, or geopolitical consequences—based on data captured today.

How the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) Frames the Quantum Threat

In its 2024 guidance documents on cryptographic migration, the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) outlined the significant risks that quantum computing poses to today’s encryption standards. The BSI emphasizes the importance of preparing for this paradigm shift early by adopting crypto-agile and quantum-resistant architectures.

They highlight the need for:

• Awareness of the long-term confidentiality requirements of certain data
• Strategic migration planning away from vulnerable algorithms
• Adoption of hybrid approaches and post-quantum cryptography (PQC) where applicable

➡️ Access the BSI’s publications here.

fragmentiX: A Quantum-Safe Storage Architecture Built for Longevity

At fragmentiX, we go beyond traditional encryption. We enable information-theoretic security (ITS)—a level of protection that does not rely on assumptions about the attacker’s future capabilities.

Our approach combines:

✅ Secret Sharing – splitting your data into multiple meaningless fragments
✅ Geo-distributed storage – storing fragments across multiple, independently controlled cloud or local environments
✅ Trustless architecture – no single provider (not even fragmentiX) ever has access to usable data
✅ Sovereignty and resilience – even in the event of infrastructure failure, espionage, or attempted extortion

The result: No readable data ever leaves your control—not to the cloud, not to a provider, not even to us.

Encryption Alone Will Not Be Enough

Most current encryption methods rely on computational assumptions that quantum computers will break—not “if,” but “when.”

For example:

• RSA-2048 encryption can be broken in theory by Shor’s algorithm using a sufficiently powerful quantum computer.
• Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), used in many mobile apps and messaging platforms, is also vulnerable to quantum attacks.

While we are not there yet, the cryptographic community—including National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), and the BSI—is actively preparing for the transition.
The key takeaway? Long-term data must already be protected today—not with short-term patches, but with future-proof systems.

Conclusion: Future-Proof Your Data Strategy Now

The risk posed by quantum computing is not just a technical curiosity—it’s a planning problem.

Attackers don’t need a quantum computer today to become a threat. If your data is intercepted now and decrypted in 5, 10, or 15 years, the damage is already done. That’s why quantum-safe planning must start now—especially for organizations with long-term confidentiality obligations.

fragmentiX offers a practical, robust, and future-proof solution. Made in Austria. Trusted by critical infrastructure and research institutions.

Because your data belongs to you. And only you.
Today, and tomorrow.

Ready to protect your data from future threats?

➡️ Get in touch for a consultation or demo tailored to your infrastructure.

Learn how fragmentiX works in detail:

➡️ Explore our solutions.