Quantum Security Community Forum UK 2026
Schedule
Thu Sep 17 2026 at 09:00 am to 04:30 pm
UTC+01:00Location
LEB Building | London, EN
About this Event
Welcome to the Quantum Security Community Forum UK 2026!
This full-day, in-person event brings together practitioners, researchers, architects, CISOs, engineers, and policymakers preparing for the quantum decade. Attendees can expect a high-signal agenda focused on quantum security and quantum readiness: PQC migration, crypto-agility, Q-Day outlooks, regulatory developments, and real-world lessons from early adopters.
The day includes keynote briefings, technical sessions, panel discussions, and dedicated networking time. Whether you’re working on PQC transitions, assessing quantum risk, or shaping strategy for your organisation, this forum offers clear insight, practical guidance, and the opportunity to connect with peers facing the same challenges.
Agenda
🕑: 08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
Registration, Coffee & Networking
Info: Arrivals, badge pick-up, morning coffee, and informal networking.
🕑: 09:00 AM - 09:20 AM
State of Quantum Security 2026: Where We Really Are
Host: Marin Ivezic
Info: A high-level briefing on the quantum security landscape, the drivers for quantum readiness, emerging risks, and the major capability, regulatory, and organisational shifts shaping 2026.
🕑: 09:20 AM - 09:40 AM
PQC Migration Reality Check: What Organisations Are Actually Discovering
Info: Insights from real cryptographic inventories, early CBOM work, dependency mapping, hybrid deployments, and the common blockers enterprises face as migrations begin.
🕑: 09:40 AM - 10:00 AM
TNFL vs HNDL: Why the Difference Reshapes Quantum-Risk Planning
Info: A clear explanation of Trust-Now-Forge-Later vs Harvest-Now-Decrypt-Later, how each impacts timelines, and why it changes roadmaps, priorities, and board conversations.
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:20 AM
Crypto-Agility, Re-Defined: Architecture for a Post-PQC World
Info: A practical view of crypto-agility beyond “swap algorithms quickly” — covering lifecycle, trust anchoring, protocol agility, governance, and the architecture early adopters are implementing now.
🕑: 10:20 AM - 10:35 AM
Coffee Break
Host: Coffee
🕑: 10:35 AM - 10:55 AM
PQC Infrastructure Challenges: What Most Organisations Aren’t Ready For
Info: Understanding the hidden infrastructure burdens of PQC: key and certificate explosion, KMS bottlenecks, multi-vendor PKI constraints, OT/edge issues, and performance impacts.
🕑: 10:55 AM - 11:15 AM
Building the Business Case: How to Secure Budget for PQC and Crypto-Agility
Info: What works when communicating quantum risk to leadership, how to frame ROI, mapping costs to realistic risks, and using regulatory timelines to justify investment.
🕑: 11:15 AM - 11:45 AM
Q-Day Outlooks: A Sober, Data-Grounded View of Quantum Timelines
Info: A realistic approach to capability forecasting, signals to watch, modelling ranges, and how organisations can prepare without hype or panic.
🕑: 11:45 AM - 12:15 PM
Standards & Regulation 2026: What Will Hit First—and What It Means for You
Info: A practical update on NCSC, NIST, ENISA, ETSI, ISO, CISA, etc. expectations, and what organisations should prioritise to stay ahead of compliance and policy momentum.
🕑: 12:15 PM - 01:15 PM
Lunch & Networking
Host: Lunch
🕑: 01:15 PM - 01:35 PM
Getting Started: Skills, Teams, and the First 100 Days of Quantum Readiness
Info: How to organise teams, address skills gaps, run parallel workstreams, set early KPIs, and build initial momentum without getting stalled in planning cycles.
🕑: 01:35 PM - 02:20 PM
Fireside Chat - Quantum Readiness in Practice - What Early Adopters Have Learned
Info: A candid discussion with leaders from FS, telecom, cloud, and government on organisational blockers, unexpected discoveries, stakeholder alignment, and lessons from early pilots.
🕑: 02:20 PM - 02:35 PM
Coffee Break
Host: Coffee
🕑: 02:35 PM - 03:15 PM
Expert Panel - Quantum Security in 2026: What to Prioritise Now vs What Can Wait
Info: A cross-industry panel discussing immediate PQC actions, long-term crypto-agility foundations, procurement shifts, key management transformation, and realistic Q-Day preparation.
🕑: 03:15 PM - 03:35 PM
Roadmap for a Quantum-Resilient Organisation: The Next 12 Months
Info: A concise, actionable plan synthesising the day’s insights into a practical sequence of steps for your organisation.
🕑: 03:35 PM - 04:00 PM
Closing Session - What the Quantum Security Community Will Build Next
Info: Upcoming meetups, other global events, new community resources, Slack & Discourse activities, the weekly Digest, and how to stay involved.
🕑: 04:00 PM - 04:30 PM
Open Q&A + Wrap-Up
🕑: 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM
Networking Drinks
Info: Light refreshments and continued conversation.
Where is it happening?
LEB Building, 3 Birkbeck Street, London, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 20.00
