Quantum computing isn’t widely available yet, but the time is likely coming—and with it, the ability for users to deploy the technology for encryption and cryptography.

That includes threat actors. Marc Lijour, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers researcher, told IT Brew that attackers are already getting ready for the opportunity provided by quantum computing. They are “downloading everything they can at the moment and storing it, basically copying the internet and anything they can so they can open it later [using quantum technology],” he said.

Big time. That probably only applies to nation-states, John Bruggeman, a consulting CISO, said. To Bruggeman, the likelihood is low that criminals are storing the information, but high that countries are.

“Probably the world’s largest storage repository is out in [Bluffdale] Utah—thanks to [former Utah senator Orrin] Hatch and the NSA—and they are definitely, without a doubt, storing lots and lots of internet traffic waiting for the day when they can decrypt it using a quantum computer,” Bruggeman said.

When that day comes, be ready.—EH

Dahlia Bousaid Cox’s career has been about supporting the underserved—and her role as CEO of nonprofit Tech Goes Home continues that mission.

In the 2000s, Bousaid Cox worked at the Railroad Street Youth Project in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a nonprofit organization that worked with underserved young people in the community to provide support and steer them away from drugs and criminal activity. It was a collaborative approach, she told IT Brew.

“I felt like the Railroad Street could really step in and help to work hand-in-hand with young people to provide solutions for what they were facing,” Bousaid Cox said.

More solutions at the link.—EH

Cybersecurity is a back-and-forth between attackers and defenders, each looking for advantage—and, in some cases, learning from each other.

Taking cues from the bad guys might seem contrary to the threat defender mission, but once you strip away the specifics of what each side is doing, they’re both IT experts doing a job—one that often includes AI and automation. Foundation AI Global Security Advisor Mick Baccio shares the view that threat actors can be teachers for IT pros.

“We were trying to automate incident response, why would you not automate the offensive side?” Baccio said.

What would you do?—EH

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