Designing for Breakage: What Cybersecurity Leaders Must Plan For

Episode notes

As quantum computing accelerates toward real-world impact, organizations must stop viewing post-quantum cryptography as a one-time technical upgrade. In this episode of Shielded: The Last Line of Cyber Defense, host Johannes Lintzen sits down with Yolanda Reid, former Associate Partner at IBM Consulting and U.S. Department of Defense leader, to explain why the PQC transition is fundamentally different from past events like Y2K. They discuss why treating PQC as a “fix-it-and-forget-it” migration is a dangerous misconception, and why organizations must instead prepare for an ongoing process of algorithm updates, policy changes, system redesigns, and cultural shifts. Yolanda shares lessons from government, financial services, and telecom industries, offering insights on how to build resilient teams, automate enforcement, and educate executives who still think “quantum doesn’t apply to us.” From crypto inventory planning to hybrid approaches and the rising convergence of AI and quantum, Yolanda delivers a clear and urgent call for awareness, preparation, and leadership. This is not just a technology problem; it’s a mindset shift. And the clock is already ticking.