Insights

As AI continues to evolve and integrate deeper into societal frameworks, the strategies for its governance, alignment, and security must also advance, ensuring that AI enhances human capabilities without undermining human values. This requires a vigilant, adaptive approach that is responsive to new challenges and opportunities, aiming for an AI future that is as secure as it is progressive ...

Quantum commercialization is hard; there’s no sugar-coating that. But as we’ve seen, “hard” is not “impossible,” and early difficulty does not mean it’s “too early.” The myths we unpacked – that quantum is always 20 years away, that only giants can play, that no market exists, that we can passively wait to license, or that generic support will do – all share a common trait: they underestimate the momentum and ingenuity already at work in the quantum ecosystem. The reality is that in labs and startups across the world, quantum technologies are taking their first steps into the marketplace. University spin-outs are building actual devices and software, signing on pilot customers, and attracting investment, thereby proving these myths wrong one ...

The race to commercialize quantum technology is on, and it’s not a sprint by a lone runner; it’s a relay. TTOs carry the baton of discovery from the lab, but to reach the finish line of market impact, they must hand off (and continuously team up) with external partners who can run the next laps. External commercialization experts provide the extra legs, the fresh perspective, and the stamina needed for quantum’s long journey to market ...

Quantum computing and associated quantum technologies are on the cusp of ushering in a new era for materials science and chemical engineering. After decades of development, the vision is becoming reality. Quantum computers – though still nascent – have already shown they can emulate the quantum behavior of molecules and materials in ways that classical computers never could, hinting at their tremendous potential ...

The current stage of development in quantum isn’t about figuring out if the technology works – it’s about making it work reliably, at scale, and for a purpose. That requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. Universities and research institutes must continue to push the frontiers of knowledge. Tech transfer offices should be empowered with more resources and flexibility to nurture quantum projects for the long haul. And crucially, external commercialization experts need to be integrated into the process to provide the experience and acceleration that most academic teams lack. It’s a symbiosis: internal teams bring depth of knowledge, external partners bring breadth of execution skills ...

Cryptographic Bill of Materials (CBOM) represent the next evolution in software transparency and security risk management. As we have explored, a CBOM provides deep visibility into an application’s cryptographic underpinnings – an area that has often been opaque to security teams. By enumerating algorithms, keys, certificates, and their usage, CBOMs empower organizations to tackle challenges ranging from quantum cryptography transition and legacy crypto cleanup to regulatory compliance and rapid incident response to crypto vulnerabilities. For security architects and CISOs, adopting CBOM practices offers actionable benefits. It means no longer relying on ad-hoc methods or tribal knowledge to answer “What crypto are we using in our products?” Instead, you have a ready inventory to consult or share with stakeholders. It means ...

A cryptographic inventory is essentially a complete map of all cryptography used in an organization’s systems – and it is vital for understanding quantum-vulnerable assets and planning remediation. In theory it sounds straightforward: “list all your cryptography.” In practice, however, building a full cryptographic inventory is an extremely complex, lengthy endeavor. Many enterprises find that even identifying all their IT assets is challenging, let alone uncovering every cryptographic component hidden within those assets. Cryptography often lurks in multiple layers of hardware, software, and firmware, making it difficult to spot. Despite the difficulty, performing a thorough inventory is strongly recommended (or required) by major security guidelines as the foundational step toward crypto-agility and quantum readiness. Without it, organizations cannot effectively assess ...

The automotive industry has revolutionized manufacturing twice. The first time was in 1913 when Henry Ford introduced a moving assembly line at his Highland Park plant in Michigan. The innovation changed the production process forever, dramatically increasing efficiency, reducing the time it took to build a car, and significantly lowering the cost of the Model T, thereby kickstarting the world’s love affair with cars. The success of this system not only transformed the automotive industry but also had a profound impact on manufacturing worldwide, launching the age of mass production. The second time was about 50 years later, when General Motors installed Unimate, the world's first industrial robot, on its assembly line at the Inland Fisher Guide Plant, New Jersey ...

Cybersecurity has swiftly moved from an IT issue to a core boardroom concern. Regulators around the world are increasingly holding boards of directors directly responsible for overseeing cyber risk - and even personally accountable when things go wrong. As someone who has served as an interim CISO and as a board member, I’ve witnessed this shift firsthand ...

Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is moving from theory to practice. NIST has now standardized several PQC algorithms - such as CRYSTALS-Kyber for key exchange (now known as ML-KEM) and CRYSTALS-Dilithium and SPHINCS+ for digital signatures - and major tech companies like Google, AWS, and Cloudflare have begun experimenting with integrating these algorithms. On the surface, it may seem that we can simply “drop in” PQC algorithms as replacements for RSA or ECC. However, migrating to PQC is not plug-and-play. In fact, even an additional kilobyte or two of data in cryptographic exchanges can ripple through an organization’s infrastructure in unexpected ways ...

The race is on to quantum‑proof the world’s telecom networks. With cryptographically relevant quantum computers (CRQC) projected to arrive by the 2030s, global communications providers face an urgent mandate to upgrade their security foundations. Today’s mobile and fixed‑line networks rely on public-key cryptography that quantum algorithms could eventually break. In response, the telecom industry is turning to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as the primary defense. Yet adopting PQC at telecom scale is a complex journey, entailing far more than a simple swap of algorithms. It demands strategic foresight and technical rigor to overcome unique architectural and operational hurdles. As an anecdotal example, my team has been working with one telecommunications provider on quantum readiness for over 10 years, and the company ...

Quantum repeaters are specialized devices in quantum communication networks designed to extend the distance over which quantum information (qubits) can be sent without being lost or corrupted​. They tackle a fundamental challenge: photons carrying qubits tend to get absorbed or scatter as they travel through fiber or air, and quantum states can decohere (lose their quantum properties) due to environmental noise ...