Quantum-Resilient Convergence: The Shared Defense of AI, Space, and Critical Infrastructure

February 2026

By David Mussington, Ph.D., CISSP, DDN QTE,

ICIT Fellow, Co-Chair, ICIT FCEB Resilience Center

The infrastructure of the 2030s is being built now.

Artificial intelligence systems are scaling across government and critical infrastructure. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks are expanding rapidly. Together, they form the backbone of future national security, economic competitiveness, and operational resilience.

But as this architecture grows, so does a critical vulnerability: the coming impact of quantum computing on today’s cryptography.

In this paper, Dr. Mussington argues that AI infrastructure and PQC migration are inextricably linked. They share the same capital expenditure cycles, the same 2030–2035 planning horizon, and the same operational necessity for deep visibility and control. The window to secure the next decade remains open — but only if action begins now.

Executive Summary

If PQC is treated as a “bolt-on” after AI infrastructure is built, the cost and complexity of remediation will be prohibitive. Automated Cryptographic Discovery and Inventory of encryption vulnerabilities must begin now. This is delivered by ACDI toolsets, enhanced by AI, whose outputs can then be further consumed by AI for analysis, correlation, and agentic use-cases.

By embedding cryptographic requirements into the current wave of AI and LEO build-outs, we can transform a potential vulnerability into a defensible, quantum-resilient posture.

The decisions made today will shape the security landscape of the 2030s.

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ICIT_Quantum-resilient-convergence_V02.pdf

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About ICIT

The Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)3think tank with the mission of modernizing, securing, and making resilient critical infrastructure that provides for people’s foundational needs. ICIT takes no institutional positions on policy matters. Rather than advocate, ICIT is dedicated to being a resource for the organizations and communities that share our mission. By applying a people-centric lens to critical infrastructure research and decision making, our work ensures that modernization and security investments have a lasting, positive impact on society. Learn more at www.icitech.org.