Data encrypted today may not stay protected forever.
Future quantum computers powerful enough to break current cryptography could compromise widely used methods such as RSA and ECC. This creates the risk of "harvest now, decrypt later": encrypted data is collected today and stored until it can be decrypted.
A new report by Europol and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), developed within the Europol Advisory Group on Research and Development, assesses how feasible this threat really is and what it means for crime. It looks at who might use this technique and why, which data and stakeholders are most at risk, and how law enforcement could encounter the threat in practice.
The question is not whether quantum computing will advance, but whether systems will be ready before current cryptography becomes vulnerable.
Read the report: https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-events/publications/harvest-now-decrypt-later
