Cities urged to prepare for quantum cyber risks 07 August 2026 by Jonathan Andrews City technology leaders should begin preparing for post-quantum cybersecurity threats through supplier audits, workforce training and long-term technology planning, according to Chris Lucero, Technology and Design Director at The Connective, Greater Phoenix’s smart city consortium. Lucero told Cities Today that the security of municipal systems depends partly on the readiness of the technology companies supplying them. Cities therefore need to consider post-quantum security across their entire supply chains. “Every city needs to understand this threat from the entire supply chain, from womb to tomb,” he said. “You’re only as strong as your weakest links. If your vendors are not ready for this, you’re going to introduce vulnerabilities.” Cryptographically relevant quantum computers, with the number of qubits and level of error correction required for substantial computing, are not yet available, Lucero said. Existing systems can perform simulations but are not ready to conduct the type of large-scale attacks that concern cybersecurity specialists. Nevertheless, he argued that cities should prepare before more capable quantum computers emerge. Cybersecurity is also becoming a broader organisational issue rather than something confined to municipal IT departments, Lucero said. He expects it to become a core element of government and business strategy, requiring corresponding attention and investment. One emerging risk is known as “harvest now, decrypt later”. Under this approach, hackers collect encrypted data today in anticipation of gaining access to quantum computers capable of decoding it in the future. Asked to rate the current threat on a scale of one to ten, Lucero put it at “at least an eight”. He noted that cities make considerable amounts of information publicly available in the interests of transparency. This can include building information, city council meeting records and future calendars, while municipal application programming