Published: July 15, 2026; Aithor: Julia Sonrisa
Join us to hear how quantum computing threatens today’s security—and what organisations must do to stay protected.
As quantum computing becomes more mature as a new paradigm for processing information, it unlocks a wide range of benefits. However, it also undermines much of the cryptography that sustains our current way of life.
An international effort is underway to identify new protections for data and identity that are resistant to the threat posed by quantum computers. But as with any large-scale digital transformation, there are a wide range of technical and organisational challenges to overcome if we are to successfully protect our systems without damaging them ourselves!
In this talk, I will talk about the practical implications of post-quantum cryptography and what organisations should be doing to protect themselves.
Dr Bob Oates is a cyber security expert with over a decade of industrial experience, focussing predominantly on safety-critical, operational technologies and critical national infrastructure. He is the technical lead for Cambridge Consultants’ post-quantum cryptography services.
As a technical expert, Dr Oates has worked on several highly complex and challenging programmes, including the security for the world’s first commercial remotely operated ship. As an employee of Rolls-Royce, Dr Oates won the Sir Henry Royce award twice, once as part of the team behind remotely operated ships, and once as part of the team behind a cryptographic framework for securing confidential data on remote compute resources for computational fluid dynamics.
During his time at the National Grid, he predominantly focused on the impact of OT/IT convergence on threat modelling by demonstrating how controls in one domain could prevent propagation of threats into adjacent domains. Dr Oates has contributed to several standards and guidance documents, including ED202A (the aviation cyber security standard), The Safety Critical System Club’s Data Safety Guidance, and Canada’s Cybersecurity for Road Transportation Primer.
In addition to standards and guidance, Dr Oates has maintained an active interest in publishing work in high-quality conferences and journals. He has also been a guest at The Polish Academy of Science, and at the Dagstuhl Conference on Artificial Immune Systems. He has an honorary Professorship in Safety and Security from De Montfort University, a PhD in Robotics and Security from The University of Nottingham, and a Master’s degree in Applied Cybernetics and Computer Science from The University of Reading.
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Time: 1:00 pm EDT
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