Why Singapore's Aires Says Post-Quantum Crypto Readiness Can't Wait

Singapore-based quantum startup Aires Applied Quantum Technology is urging enterprises to stop treating post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as a future problem. In a wide-ranging interview with iTnews Asia, Aires CCO Bernard Soo laid out why organisations — especially in Singapore and Southeast Asia — need to start preparing for the day quantum computers break current encryption standards.

The timeline is closer than most think. Within the next few years to a decade, quantum machines could crack RSA encryption in hours — potentially upending the entire digital economy's security infrastructure. Soo highlights five major barriers holding quantum adoption back: hardware maturity, system integration complexity, a severe talent shortage, unclear ROI, and the sheer difficulty of PQC migration. His firm's 2026 report found 57% of respondents rated their PQC readiness as low.

But Soo's advice is refreshingly practical. He tells CIOs to start with basic cryptographic inventory — most enterprises don't even know where their encryption lives. Then classify data by lifespan and sensitivity (long-lived data like financial and health records are most at risk), design for crypto-agility, and start with contained but scalable deployments. The playbook sounds more like IT hygiene than rocket science.

Why it matters for Singapore: Aires is a homegrown Singapore quantum security company, and Soo explicitly calls out sovereign capability as critical for Singapore. As quantum becomes more strategic, countries will care about where IP is developed and whether they have local companies capable of commercial delivery. For Singapore's financial hub ambitions, PQC readiness isn't optional — if banks and fintechs here aren't quantum-safe, the entire ecosystem is exposed. Aires is positioning itself as the local answer to a global problem.