Oracle Pushes Database Customers to Adopt Quantum-Safe Encryption Now
The database giant is warning that adversaries can harvest encrypted data today and crack it once quantum computers arrive, making cryptographic upgrades an urgent priority rather than a future concern.
A threat that feels distant may already be unfolding in real time. Adversaries can collect encrypted communications and stored data now, then unlock that information later when quantum computing reaches sufficient maturity. This "harvest now, decrypt later" scenario has prompted Oracle Corp. to take quantum-resistant cryptography seriously across its database portfolio.
Vipin Samar, senior vice president of software engineering, database security, at Oracle, explained the urgency during remarks at Oracle AI World. "Even though we don't have quantum computers which are sufficiently powerful today, when they come, that can create a risk because people can make a copy of your encrypted data today," Samar said. "Your TLS 1.2 traffic, 1.3 traffic, I can make a copy of it. And then when quantum becomes available, I can figure out the session key and decrypt … your entire sensitive data."
Quantum-resistant cryptography starts with fleet-level visibility
Oracle has introduced Cryptographic Posture Assessment within Oracle Data Safe, a tool designed to examine cryptographic settings across entire database fleets and identify weak configurations. The capability flags outdated protocols such as TLS 1.0 and 1.1 that remain in use. Agentic AI-driven remediation capabilities are currently available in preview.
The company is extending the security philosophy it has applied to AI agents into its broader encryption strategy. "It doesn't help if network encryption is strong, but other parts are actually on the weaker side. And this becomes a challenge, especially when PQC or the quantum computers come along because they can attempt to hack into any of those systems," Samar noted.
Deep Data Security, a feature in Oracle AI Database 26ai, enforces access controls at the row and column level by using signed OAuth2 tokens to verify the identity of the end user making queries through an AI agent. Oracle treats AI applications as just another client accessing database information.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZlhbJpoO-xE?feature=oembed
"We said instead of sprinkling this dust everywhere, why don't we secure at the source?" Samar said. "When you move something inside the database, you get great security because there are no ways to bypass it."
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