The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has today published its guidance on quantum computing. The guidance presents the results of a survey on the opportunities and risks posed by quantum computers and discusses possible measures to mitigate the cyber risk posed by powerful quantum computers.
Between November 2025 and January 2026, FINMA conducted a survey of 60 Swiss financial institutions on the opportunities and risks of quantum computing. The institutions are aware of the cyber risks posed by cryptographically relevant quantum computers. In most cases, however, there is a lack of a clear roadmap and sufficiently forward-looking planning for the migration to quantum-safe encryption.
FINMA considers that action is needed in the risk management process of numerous institutions in order to continue to meet the requirements regarding operational risks and resilience.
In its guidance, FINMA outlines possible measures for addressing the cyber risk posed by cryptographically relevant quantum computers. These include a clear strategy and roadmap for migrating to quantum-safe encryption, an institution-specific risk analysis, the creation of a cryptographic inventory, the protection of critical data against “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks, the involvement of external service providers, and the transition to crypto-agility.
This is intended to strengthen the financial centre’s reputation and resilience, and to help institutions reliably protect their business processes even as powerful quantum computers become available.
