Insider Brief
- 2025 marked quantum technology’s transition from a specialized research domain into a mainstream strategic concern, prompting governments, industry, and institutions to shift focus from awareness to real-world deployment.
- Building on that momentum, The Quantum Insider is designating 2026 as the Year of Quantum Security, emphasizing post-quantum cryptography, protection of quantum intellectual property, and resilience as quantum systems move toward operational use.
- The initiative launches January 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C., bringing together federal agencies, industry leaders, and investors to align policy, security practices, and coordination across a global quantum ecosystem.
In 2025, quantum technology crossed an important threshold. Designated the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, the year marked a broad shift in public and institutional awareness. Quantum moved beyond research labs and specialist circles, entering boardrooms, policy discussions, and mainstream coverage. What had long been framed as a distant scientific frontier became a strategic topic with economic, national security, and industrial implications.
The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology succeeded in bringing quantum into the mainstream. Now, as attention turns from awareness to application, a consensus is forming across government, industry, and the research community. The next phase of quantum’s evolution will be defined not by discovery, but by deployment, and security will be the gating factor.
In response, The Quantum Insider is presenting 2026 as the Year of Quantum Security, a coordinated, year-long global effort focused on post-quantum cryptography, quantum resilience, and the responsible protection of quantum technologies and the intellectual property that underpins them. The initiative is intended to carry forward the momentum of 2025 while addressing a reality that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore: quantum security is no longer theoretical. It is operational.
The Year of Quantum Security will officially launch on January 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Register to attend), at a flagship convening held in participation with Holland & Knight and the Quantum Industry Coalition. Senior representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology will outline how federal agencies are approaching the security implications of quantum technologies.
Following their remarks, a panel of quantum business leaders will provide guidance on how organizations can align with emerging federal and international perspectives on post-quantum cryptography while safeguarding quantum technologies and the sensitive intellectual property associated with them. The conference will conclude with a cocktail reception, underscoring the event’s role as both a policy signal and a gathering point for a rapidly maturing ecosystem.
Among those supporting the broader initiative is Quantum Coast Capital, which has been active in advancing dialogue at the intersection of quantum innovation, security, and long-term capital formation.
From International Awareness to Global Readiness
The transition from 2025 to 2026 reflects a deliberate shift in emphasis. The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology focused on education, visibility, and ecosystem building. Governments expanded national strategies, universities scaled research and training programs, and private investment continued to grow across quantum computing, sensing, and communications.
That progress has sharpened a new set of questions. As quantum technologies move closer to deployment, how should they be protected. How should existing data be secured against future capabilities. And how can organizations align across borders in an environment where innovation, regulation, and security are increasingly intertwined.
The Year of Quantum Security is designed to address these questions directly.
The first dimension of quantum security concerns the protection of quantum innovation itself.
Global investment in quantum technologies now spans tens of billions of dollars, distributed across startups, multinational corporations, national laboratories, and academic institutions. Much of this work is collaborative and international by design. Research, software, hardware designs, and specialized materials move across organizations and borders with increasing speed.
That openness has been a strength of the quantum ecosystem. It has also expanded the attack surface. Intellectual property theft, insider risk, supply-chain compromise, and data exfiltration are familiar challenges in advanced industries. Quantum technologies intensify these risks because of their strategic importance and long-term economic value.
A layered, comprehensive security strategy is increasingly viewed as essential. Technical safeguards alone are not sufficient. Governance, access management, secure collaboration frameworks, and alignment with evolving regulatory expectations all play a role. Protecting quantum innovation is not about slowing progress. It is about ensuring that innovation can scale without eroding trust or competitive advantage.
The second dimension focuses on what quantum capabilities mean for today’s digital infrastructure.
Much of the global economy relies on cryptographic systems designed when certain mathematical problems were assumed to be computationally infeasible. Those assumptions remain valid against classical computers. They are not guaranteed indefinitely as quantum techniques advance.
This creates a timing challenge. Data encrypted today can be harvested and stored for future decryption once more capable systems exist. For information with a short shelf life, the risk is limited. For long-lived data, including health records, legal archives, sensitive intellectual property, and national security information, the implications are significant.
Post-quantum cryptography addresses this challenge by enabling organizations to secure data now in ways designed to remain resilient over time. Standards are being finalized. Governments are issuing guidance. Enterprises are beginning the complex work of identifying cryptographic dependencies embedded across legacy systems and supply chains. This transition favors planning and coordination over urgency.
A Year Built for Global Coordination
The Year of Quantum Security is structured as a global program rather than a single moment. Following the January launch in Washington, 2026 will include regional summits across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, along with sector-specific forums and practitioner-focused education initiatives. The year will culminate in a capstone gathering focused on readiness outcomes and lessons learned.
This structure reflects the reality that quantum security is inherently international. Research collaborations span borders. Supply chains are global. Standards gain legitimacy only through broad adoption. No single government or company can manage the transition alone.
By presenting 2026 as the Year of Quantum Security, The Quantum Insider aims to provide a shared narrative and a common timeline for organizations navigating this shift. The objective is not to elevate concern, but to accelerate coordination and responsible action at a moment when preparation remains possible.
Major technology transitions rarely announce themselves with a single breakthrough. They unfold through standards decisions, procurement choices, and incremental changes that accumulate over time.
The Year of Quantum Security is intended to bring coherence to that process. It signals that quantum security has moved from the periphery to the center of strategic planning, and that the work of aligning technology, policy, and practice can no longer be deferred.
If 2025 was the year quantum entered the global conversation, 2026 may be remembered as the year security caught up. The launch on January 12 marks the beginning of that shift. The year that follows will determine how effectively the quantum ecosystem translates awareness into durable trust.