Hong Kong’s central bank puts a number on lenders' quantum preparedness. It's very low.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority released a whitepaper revealing that the local banking sector is largely unprepared for the security risks posed by future quantum computing. While awareness is growing, most banks have yet to formalize plans for post-quantum cryptography to protect against potential 'harvest now, decrypt later' attacks.
Why it matters
Quantum computing poses a systemic threat to global financial security, as current encryption methods may become vulnerable to future decryption capabilities.
On Monday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published a whitepaper on the banking sector’s readiness for the quantum era, complete with its first Quantum Preparedness Index reading.
At that level, the territory’s banking industry is just figuring out the risks posed by the technology even as many security experts warn that the quantum age is already knocking on the door.
The whitepaper, unveiled at the eighth FiNETech conference and based on a survey conducted earlier this year, shows awareness is starting to build, but actual preparation is lagging.
About 68% of banks surveyed showed at least some awareness or had moved into planning or pilot stages. The rest hadn’t even started. Roughly half have yet to formalize a plan for moving to post-quantum cryptography. Additionally, while board-level discussions had occurred at about half the banks, only one-third had begun exploring or testing anything quantum-related.
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