Nearly half of enterprises have no one leading PQC migration

Source: Help Net Security

Author: Anamarija Pogorelec

URL: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/08/21/axiad-pqc-migration-readiness-gaps-report/

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY:

Axiad research finds enterprises overestimate PQC readiness due to unclear ownership, limited testing, and visibility gaps despite inventories.

MAIN POINTS:

1. Effective PQC planning requires knowing where certificates, keys, and algorithms are used.
2. Approximately 75% report maintaining continuously updated cryptographic asset inventories.
3. Visibility alone doesn’t ensure readiness when ownership and testing are missing.
4. Nearly 46% lack a single accountable leader for PQC migration.
5. Another 39% share responsibility across teams without a dedicated owner.
6. Multi-year migrations affect encryption, signatures, and authentication across many systems.
7. About half never formally assessed post-quantum key exchange support in public infrastructure.
8. Executive confidence exceeds practitioners’ confidence, especially among PKI specialists.
9. Misalignment suggests unverifiable executive claims or practitioners lacking enterprise-wide visibility.
10. “Harvest now, decrypt later” increases urgency, particularly for long-lived sensitive data.

TAKEAWAYS:

1. Assign one accountable program owner to coordinate PQC scope, budget, and timelines.
2. Convert inventories into evidence-based action through verification and targeted testing.
3. Prioritize assessments of public-facing cryptographic infrastructure for PQC gaps.
4. Bridge executive-practitioner disconnect with shared metrics and transparent readiness reporting.
5. Address blockers—competing priorities, funding, and regulatory uncertainty—to sustain migration progress.