Quantum Risk at the Board Level
Board members and non-executive directors do not need to understand quantum physics. They need to understand fiduciary exposure, regulatory risk, competitive implications, and whether management’s response to the quantum threat is adequate. This two-hour briefing covers those four areas.
Boards are responsible for overseeing how the organization responds to the quantum threat to cryptography. In a harvest-now-decrypt-later attack, an adversary collects encrypted data today and decrypts it once a capable quantum computer exists. Some of your organization’s data may already have been collected. Regulators have set migration deadlines that organizations must meet. Insurers are asking about quantum readiness. Investors and clients are beginning to expect demonstrable preparedness.
Course Outline
Module 1 60 minutes The Board's Quantum Risk Exposure
What the quantum threat means in governance terms: data that your organization holds today may be decrypted in the future. Regulatory deadlines and compliance obligations. Fiduciary duty: whether the board should be tracking quantum risk. How quantum risk maps to existing risk appetite frameworks. Peer benchmarking: what boards at comparable organizations are doing. How cyber insurance questionnaires are starting to ask about quantum readiness.
Module 2 60 minutes Governance and Oversight
What a credible management response looks like versus what should raise concerns. The questions boards should ask about PQC migration: Has discovery been completed? Is the migration methodology vendor-independent? What is the vendor dependency exposure? What verification is planned? How to read a management update on PQC migration status. Setting expectations for reporting cadence and milestones. Disclosure: when and how to address quantum risk in public filings and investor communications.
Prerequisites
None.
Who this course is for
Non-executive directors, board members, audit committee members, risk committee members, and corporate secretaries preparing board materials on technology risk.
What you’ll be able to do afterward
- Understand the quantum threat at a governance level (what is at risk, why, and on what timeline)
- Identify the board’s fiduciary and regulatory obligations with respect to quantum security
- Ask informed questions of management about organizational PQC readiness status
- Evaluate a PQC risk assessment and readiness report
- Understand what a PQC migration program entails and how to evaluate management’s plan
- Assess whether the organization’s quantum risk governance is adequate
What you leave with
When you finish, we email you the course handbook, a PDF of every slide with notes that explain it in full. We also include a PDF copy of Quantum Ready. The handbook is yours to keep.
Enrollment includes 180 days of access to the online on-demand course. Where that course is not yet published, the 180 days start on the day it is.
Where this course fits
Nothing is required, and no technical background is assumed. Quantum Security for Executives is the longer course for the management team. PQC Migration: Building the Business Case covers the funding case the board will be asked to approve.
Why we teach this
The material is based on Quantum Ready, the book on organizational readiness written by the course author. It also draws on faculty who have been the decision-makers in these discussions. We teach executives the questions that too often go unasked.
Certificate of Completion
Upon completion, you receive a Quantum Academy certificate of completion. It is separate from our professional certifications and states your CPE credits, one for each 60 minutes of teaching. CISSP, CISM and CGEIT holders can claim them with their certifying body. The credits also count toward renewing a Quantum Academy certification. Our CPE credits page explains how to claim them.
About this program
Quantum Academy credentials are private professional credentials issued by Quantum Academy, a trade name of Post-Quantum Institute. They are not government-issued licenses, accredited degrees, or academic credit, and earning one does not guarantee employment, promotion, regulatory approval, or any other specific outcome.
Quantum Academy programs are educational and informational only, and are not legal, compliance, or engineering advice.
