start to align with either ecosystem, switching or aiming to align with both would become very difficult. Countries that are allies of one of the two “quantum superpowers” might be granted access to some quantum capabilities, but at the cost of a substantial loss of technological sovereignty. They would have to give up some degree of strategic independence, ceding room to manoeuvre in a complex and changing geopolitical environment. Moreover, should their alliance with the quantum superpower falter, they could risk losing access to quantum altogether, generating financial or economic shockwaves. This quantum arms race could mirror the race to build nuclear weapons, followed by the subsequent efforts by nuclear powers to prevent other countries from obtaining such weapons. The potential geopolitical benefits to quantum leadership are large. Yet, in the absence of global agreements related to building and using quantum technologies, it is conceivable that countries seeking that leadership would take overt or covert military action over the next decade to derail and delay their adversaries’ efforts to build quantum computing systems. Even in the absence of such a worst-case scenario, the world’s leading militaries are prioritizing quantum as a risk.139 Concerns begin with cryptography: sensitive diplomatic exchanges or classified intelligence reports that are likely to have been harvested, potentially over many years, could suddenly be hacked at a large scale by a government or company gaining access to a cryptographically relevant quantum computer. Data breaches could provide significant leverage to the government that has the quantum advantage, generating insights into other countries’ geopolitical strategies, military and intelligence operations; business plans and intellectual property of companies in strategic sectors; or PII of entire populations. In a world that is turning away from multilateralism and in which power politics is becoming more prevalent, it is likely that governments will press home this information advantage. This would further polarize geopolitics into stronger nations (those that have access to quantum technologies) on one hand and all those that do not on the other. Quantum simulations involving the modelling of complex systems are likely to accelerate breakthroughs in sensitive fields such as autonomous weapons or engineered pathogens.140 There are also several emerging practical applications of quantum sensing for military use.141 For example, quantum sensing has the potential to be able to identify submarines or stealth aircraft via gravitational or magnetic anomalies,142 putting at risk key military assets. Actions for today For a wide variety of organizations, the costs of delayed preparation are likely to exceed those of adopting quantum-safe cryptography early. Recent calls to action have been issued by, among others, the G7 Cyber Expert Group143 and Europol’s Quantum Safe Financial Forum.144 Organizations adopting quantum-resistant security may leverage hybrid solutions that integrate both classical and quantum-ready approaches. They will need to enhance their crypto agility to build ongoing capabilities in response to evolving cryptographic standards and solutions. Organizations need to begin their quantum cyber readiness journey by building out a strategy and roadmap today. The following five guiding principles aim to help organizations understand where they are, identify gaps in their preparations to become quantum secure, and improve their initial steps towards quantum security: 1) ensure the organizational governance structure institutionalizes quantum risk, 2) raise quantum risk awareness throughout the Getty Images, Unsplash Global Risks Report 2026 58