Microsoft announced today that it is accelerating its quantum-safe security roadmap, saying advances in quantum computing are bringing the need to replace today’s encryption standards sooner than previously expected.

Although today’s quantum computers cannot crack modern encryption, security researchers have warned about “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks. In these attacks, encrypted data that is stolen today is stored until future quantum computers become powerful enough to decrypt it, exposing sensitive information.

As a result, companies including Apple, Google, and Signal have begun integrating post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to replace existing public-key encryption algorithms with quantum-resistant versions.