Quantum-resilience as a strategic deterrent

October 13, 2025

The global race for quantum supremacy poses one of the most significant challenges of our time. We’re just years away from cybersecurity as we know it becoming redundant, so as nations invest billions in sovereign quantum computing infrastructure, the ability to break modern encryption will become a new form of strategic leverage. As will securing their insight and breakthroughs as they close in on producing a viable quantum computer.

While the UK’s National Quantum Strategy outlines ambitions to have accessible, UK-based quantum computers by 2035, other nations are aiming to shatter that timeframe. The US, with the might of Google and IBM focused on quantum breakthroughs, and China, with huge investments and rapid progress creating multiple scares in the last year, are leading the charge. When that happens, the UK’s most sensitive, mission critical data will become readily available.

When you consider that teams will also be working stealthily on quantum computers, keeping their most cutting-edge progress behind closed doors, one thing becomes clear. Achieving quantum-safe readiness isn’t merely an exercise in cybersecurity, it’s an act of national security. Hesitation now invites bad actors to harvest the UK’s most critical data and decrypt it as soon as a quantum computer goes live. The truth is, the harvesting has already begun.

Cyber deterrence in the quantum age

Nuclear deterrence prevents hostile powers from attacking a particular region. With the first quantum computer capable of making encryption as we know it redundant mere years away, quantum-resilience needs to be viewed in the same light.

The UK is investing heavily in its quantum strategy, with £1bn for the National Quantum Technologies Programme and a further £670m for the National Quantum Computing Centre. The fear is that too much of this is being invested in the shiny new toy that is quantum computers, rather than considering the importance of quantum-safe security. This can’t continue. Quantum-safe critical infrastructure denies an adversary the ability to steal and harvest sensitive military intelligence to decrypt later, to covertly control our critical infrastructure, and to hack our telecommunications networks. This renders their efforts to steal sensitive data useless.

UK’s quantum investment

While we await the arrival of a quantum computer, the UK defence sector isn’t a passive observer. It’s actively leveraging the more mature fields of quantum technology to enhance operational capabilities and secure critical assets.

The UK is leading the way in Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which provides an immediate and powerful layer of security for the most sensitive communications by distributing quantum-safe digital keys that can be used to safely encrypt and decrypt communications. It’s being developed by a new generation of UK companies, designing chip-based solutions to be integrated into existing critical infrastructure. By using the laws of physics instead of computational complexity, QKD provides an unbreakable layer of encryption. This acts as a foundational layer of national security, providing immediate, tangible protection against both current and future threats.

The new standard for defence

With these advancements, alongside the National Cyber Security Centre’s Post-Quantum Cryptography pilot, quantum-safe security is clearly on the radar of the UK defence industry. However, it’s important that it’s not just given a seat at the table but that it shapes the outlook of strategic defence discussions now and well into the future.

Protecting critical infrastructure relies on the integrity of the communications that underpin it. Embedding quantum-safe security at the hardware level in a form-factor that can rapidly scale across national and global telecommunication networks ensures resilience isn’t an afterthought, but a foundational principle.

Quantum-safe security therefore needs to be a non-negotiable benchmark for all future UK defence contracts. Introducing this would signal a long-term strategic commitment, drive innovation and ensure the UK’s defence ecosystem is resilient from the ground up.

After all, this is what other governments are already doing, such as China which already boasts a QKD network over 10,000km covering 17 provinces and 80 cities.

Solutions are closer than you think

Chris Erven – CEO

Experts often cite North America, Asia and mainland Europe as key quantum hubs, and no doubt the defence industry will be looking there for innovative quantum security tools. However, what too often goes under the radar is the incredible work being done much closer to home. The likes of Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol and London are all recognised quantum hubs where the solutions to one of the most significant tech challenges of our time are being solved.

UK start-ups and scale-ups have already developed quantum-safe cryptography chips that could be embedded into critical defence infrastructure now. Those companies aren’t just vendors, they’re strategic partners, providing the core technological capabilities to strengthen our national security. At a time when we’re in a quantum arms race, the ability to entrust security closer to our doorsteps is a benefit that can’t be overlooked.

Article submitted by Chris Erven, CEO & co-founder of KETS Quantum Security