Island's Mike Fey on how quantum computing will change the game

[Slate Leopard]

CNBC aired a short interview on 2 October with Mike Fey, the co-founder and chief executive of Island, under the headline of how quantum computing will change the game. Island makes an enterprise browser, a web browser built for companies with security and control features designed in from the start. The company has been in the news lately, with CNBC reporting a new funding round that values it at 6.4 billion dollars as AI driven attacks push up security spending. Fey is a long standing figure in the security industry, having been president of Symantec before he co-founded Island

I should be upfront that I could not get the clip itself to load, so I am not going to put words in his mouth. But the subject is a familiar one for anyone on this forum. When a security boss talks about quantum changing the game, the first worry is usually the public key encryption that protects browsers, VPNs, logins and most of the internet. The harvest now, decrypt later problem means data stolen today could be read years from now, once a big enough machine exists

Browsers are an interesting place for this fight. Chrome and other browsers already use hybrid post quantum key exchange for many connections, so the front door is being upgraded quietly. The harder parts are signatures, certificates and the huge number of internal company systems that hardly ever get updated. A company that sits inside every employee's browser is well placed to push those upgrades, or at least to spot where the old cryptography is still hiding

There is another side to the game as well. Quantum computers could help defenders as much as attackers, through better optimisation, simulation and eventually new kinds of security tools. It is also striking how often security leaders now mention AI and quantum in the same breath, as two big shifts arriving at roughly the same time. That combination is what seems to be driving the spending

Do you think security companies are taking quantum seriously, or has it become a buzzword for TV interviews? And would you trust a browser maker to handle the post quantum move for your business?

Island's Mike Fey on how quantum computing will change the gamewww.cnbc.com