3, 5 or 8 Years? The Realistic Timeline for Migration and the Task That Can’t Wait

Episode notes

As executives continue to postpone action, the window for preparing secure systems in the quantum era is rapidly closing. In this episode of Shielded: The Last Line of Cyber Defense , host Johannes Lintzen speaks with Adrian Neal, Senior Director and Global Lead for Post-Quantum Cryptography at Capgemini, about the real timelines and challenges of PQC migration. Adrian explains why a “three-to-five-year” plan is unrealistic, why organizations should expect closer to eight years, and how unprepared boards risk panic and triage once the first quantum breakthrough hits. They discuss why crown-jewel systems must be prioritized, how banks and governments face different pressures, and why performance under PQC will shock existing infrastructure, illustrated by tests where an HSM fell from 10,000 transactions per second to just 200. From regulatory pressure that may be needed to drive boardroom buy-in to the hard truth that today’s algorithms may not last, Adrian delivers a candid warning: apathy will kill you. The time to act is now. What You’ll Learn Y2K vs.