Quantum Readiness Means It’s Time To ‘Elevate’ Your Cryptography Experts: Optiv Field CISO

Most companies have ‘a couple talented people that are really good at cryptography,’ says Optiv Field CISO Kristin Lowery: ‘Those individuals need to be elevated right now.’

As businesses prepare for potentially unprecedented data security risks posed by quantum computing, a key part of the preparations should involve providing in-house cryptography specialists with greater attention and support as soon as possible, according to Optiv Field CISO Kristin Lowery.

With the clock ticking down to “Q-Day”—the time when threat actors are able to access quantum technologies capable of defeating existing data encryption—many organizations are moving forward on preparing for the shift to new forms of encryption that are resilient against quantum computing.

[Related: Why The Post-Quantum Shift Could Leave Older IT Systems Behind: Experts]

However, what shouldn’t be overlooked is that it’s the people who deeply understand a company’s cryptography that are in the best position to help lay the groundwork for the challenging transition, Lowery told CRN.

“In every environment I’ve been in, there’s always been a couple talented people that are really good at cryptography,” said Lowery, a longtime cybersecurity practitioner who joined Leawood, Kansas-based Optiv, No. 29 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500, in January. “Those individuals need to be elevated right now.”

That means bringing those cryptography specialists into the preparations from an early stage, and enabling those individuals to help identify what needs to change, she said.

The ideal, Lowery said, is to “give that person some attention and some support now.”

As reported in CRN’s September Cover Story, experts have said that the quantum threat posed to existing data encryption is not something the channel can afford to put off until other priorities—such as security challenges related to AI—are addressed.

While no one can say exactly when a quantum computer capable of breaking current encryption will arrive, the reality is that shifting to post-quantum cryptography could take years for many organizations, experts told CRN.

That makes the cryptography expertise that already exists within a business particularly valuable, according to Lowery.

The dynamics also make it even more essential that quantum preparations receive a priority level of attention amid the massive focus on AI, she noted.

“It’s really critical that as we continue to deal with this AI [challenge], I don’t want people to forget about quantum. That’s coming too,” Lowery said.

The post-quantum transition involves understanding where cryptography is being used and which data must remain protected for years—as well as understanding which applications, devices and other systems will need to be shifted over, experts have said.