For decades, adding qubits to a quantum computer added errors. In late 2024 Google's Willow chip reversed that: errors fell as the chip grew. In October 2025 Google's Quantum Echoes ran a verifiable task about 13,000 times faster than the best supercomputers. In August 2026 IBM and the University of Chicago completed a calculation with 70 error-corrected qubits that classical methods could not practically reproduce.
Quantum computers will not break today's encryption tomorrow. But attackers can record encrypted data now and decrypt it later when the hardware arrives. Anything that must stay secret for ten years or more — health records, citizen data, contracts, intellectual property — is already exposed to that future. Post-quantum encryption standards exist, and major cloud providers are rolling them out.
What it means for your business
- List where encryption is used and which data must stay secret for 10+ years.
- Ask vendors and cloud providers for their post-quantum roadmap.
- Build new systems so encryption algorithms can be swapped easily.
How MTH can help: Our Security Operations service includes a cryptography inventory and a post-quantum readiness plan.
This briefing is original commentary by MTH based on public reporting; figures are as reported by the sources named above and may be revised over time.
