A Solution Architect or one of Connection’s Principal Solution Sales Executives would be far better positioned to write a technical brief on AI, identity, and quantum computing. I am, admittedly, not that person. I chose my college major based almost entirely on the minimum number of math classes required and even then, I had to take one of them at a neighboring junior college after failing it three times.
Jamal Khan, Connection’s Chief Growth and Innovation Officer, leads CNXN Helix® Center for Applied AI and Robotics, and he has been making the case on quantum urgency. His interview in CEO Magazine and his 100 in 100 video series are both worth your time. He is infinitely qualified to discuss the imperatives around quantum computing and what organizations should be doing to safeguard their futures.
This won’t be an inflection point that creeps up on us, or one where we can “wait and see” or even a time where we can pilot and scale. I’ll put it plainly for my fellow English majors so you may suffer the same nightmares that lie sandwiched between deepfakes and autonomous AI systems.
Current models predict that within 10 years, you will wake up one day and simply not be able to prove you are who you say you are. You will be digitally enigmatic to all organizations with whom you share digital relationships. You will be a digital stranger to your bank, your investments, and your housing records. You will be crypto-invisible to social security, Medicare, your healthcare insurance provider and perhaps most importantly your local hospital.
That’s not hyperbole. It’s a frightening hypothesis born of the way today’s digital identity systems work.
They rely heavily on asymmetric encryption (NIST calls this asymmetric cryptography) for secure key exchange, digital signatures, and certificate validation. These systems, though highly complex, are no match for artificial intelligence and the rapidity at which AI can, at scale, using algorithms like Shor’s and Grover’s, “solve” the mathematical problems on which today’s digital identity systems rely. At the point where a cryptographically relevant quantum computer exists, it’s believed that all encryption methods employed today can and will be breached. My oversimplification here is deliberate; most of us are learning about AI and quantum computing without having studied advanced mathematics.
Good password management systems, solid policies for patch management, zero-trust architecture, multifactor authentication, 24 x 7 x 365 monitoring, SIEM, orchestration, endpoint protection, DLP, anti-phishing, XDR, digital forensics, or any of the other tools and best practices that comprise a fully enabled security tech stack will not be sufficient defense against future systems that are designed to process extraordinarily complex problems efficiently. To be clear, security hygiene in a healthcare setting remains critically important, and organizations that have allowed their security posture to languish (usually for budgetary reasons) should prepare for a future far more dangerous.
Over the last few weeks, CareCloud, Boston Scientific, and McKesson have all been involved in “regular” security breaches, where a bad actor is able to do the bad things for an average of 279 days before the breach is identified and contained. The bad actor might be in your network; they might have gained access to critical systems but may not have breached every system.
This is different. Quantum computing potentially puts every hospital system, every application, every connected medical device, every piece of software-enabled diagnostic, curative, and surgical equipment under breach all at once.
Going completely off-line for any hospital is frightening enough, but to understand the life-or-death implications, consider a bad actor who doesn’t take a hospital completely offline, but instead changes a patient’s blood type, medication protocol, or surgical orders. The horror of what’s possible will be limited only by the failure of the imagination.
Together with Connection’s team of more than 300 healthcare subject matter experts, we help our clients navigate the deluge of well-meaning partners who want to sell a quantum computing easy button. We understand that healthcare IT professionals aren’t just being asked to do more with less; they’re being asked to do all the things, all the time, right this minute. Today’s hospital CIO doesn’t have “save my hospital from apocalyptic doom from the existential threat of quantum computing” in their job description.
Still, I’m optimistic. AI’s use and relevance for clinicians, administrators, and healthcare payors can’t be overstated. The use cases are strong, and the elbow-to-elbow support that Connection offers through Helix Jumpstart can help any size healthcare organization leverage AI meaningfully.
I’m excited about the growing accessibility of AI for highly repetitive workflows and what it could mean to take that human and put them in a loop where their organizational contribution means most. This technology is allowing clinicians to operate at the top of their licenses. I’m encouraged by the way AI is helping healthcare organizations of all sizes operate more efficiently. Most of all, I’m heartened to see lives change because clinical data from across an infinite range of care settings can be harnessed in real time.
If you’re ready for a conversation about AI, quantum computing, or the future of digital health, please engage the Connection Healthcare Practice or your Connection Account Team.
Jennifer Johnson
Jennifer Johnson, Sr. Director Healthcare Strategy and Business Development, joined Connection in 2010 starting in field sales and joined the healthcare practice in 2015. Jennifer has more than 20 years in IT, including prior roles in distribution and manufacturing. Jennifer holds her Certified Digital Health Leader designation from the CHIME organization and is a member of HIMSS, where Connection is a diamond sponsor. Jen was named CRN Women of the Channel in 2023 and 2024 and holds certifications from NVIDIA (AI Advisor- Sales) and Dell Technologies (AI Champion- Partner Sales).
