It’s becoming easier for bad people to hack computers, which is causing a clear trend in security technology. To keep people and businesses safe, security needs to keep getting more complicated.
This idea was first thought of by the security company PQShield, which focuses on “post-quantum” cryptography. These are software and hardware solutions that, in theory, are future-proof and can withstand hacks done with the most powerful quantum computers in the future.
Now, the company is saying that it will be getting an extra $37 million to meet the demand from the industry to build hardware and other systems based on its work.
Lee Fixel’s investment company, Addition, led this Series B. Other strategic and financial backers included Oxford Science Enterprises, Chevron Technology Ventures, Legal & General, and Braavos Capital, all of whom were new investors, and Fixel’s own firm. It was also in charge of PQShield’s Series A in 2022. (We asked, but the startup wouldn’t say how much it’s worth.)
Ali El Kaafarani, a math professor from Oxford who started and now runs the startup (which was also started in Oxford), said that the money will be used to hire more people and work more closely with the company’s present and future customers and partners.
On that list are AMD, Microchip Technologies, Collins Aerospace, Lattice Semiconductor, Sumitomo Electric, NTT Data, Mirise Technologies (Toyota/Denso R&D), and other companies that PQShield doesn’t name. They also give advice to the White House, the European Parliament, the UK National Cyber Security Council, and the World Economic Forum. It has also worked with Nvidia, which is the biggest name in chips and technology right now.
We still have the most cryptographers than anyone else in the business, especially in post-quantum cryptography, he said in an interview. Besides that, there is an interesting change happening in standards that will also have an effect on how the field develops.
This idea of making post-quantum security standards has been worked on by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the United States for ten years. Dr. El Kaafarani said that those should be made public in the next few months. The official guidelines should be released by NIST in just two or three weeks after the drafts were released in August of last year.
As technology and computing change, one thing to keep an eye on is how big companies like Palo Alto Networks and others in the same space, like Xiphera, Post-Quantum, and others, adapt. Another thing to keep an eye on is how big companies use more advanced encryption to protect users’ data at both the software and hardware layers.
A lot of the talk about encryption these days has been about how it can be used to protect chat apps. Notably, PQShield also gives the Signal Foundation its technology for free and is, as Dr. El Kaafarani put it, “working on different research projects with them.” And how it is used in business security systems to keep data safe when it’s inside of companies and when it’s sent or shared with people outside of those companies.
For the next step, it’s likely to be about how to deal with data in AI settings, such as when AI is being used or when creating models, among other things. (And, of course, how to keep data safe in a world where bad hackers use AI to get around all the rules.)
Apple is one company trying a new way to handle privacy in AI computing. It’s calling it “Private Cloud Compute,” and it says it allows “private AI processing” by mixing private clouds more closely with its custom on-device silicon.
Dr. El Kaafarani said, “AI is another reason why we need to make sure our cryptography is up to date.” “I think that companies, like Apple, will start using post-quantum cryptography for AI right away. This way, they won’t have to go through old cryptography and then have to switch to the new standards.”
With three types of solutions—a system on a chip that can be put on hardware like smartcards or processors; software through a cryptographic SDK that can be built into mobile and server apps and technologies used to process data or run security operations; and a toolkit for communications companies that is designed to protect messaging services—PQShield has an interesting angle that moves it from being pure high-tech to something that can be used in the real world. This is probably one reason why investors like Addition are interested, especially at a time when chips and computers seem to be changing so quickly.
Also Read: Hackers Find More Victims of Thetruthspy Stalkerware: Has Someone Hacked Into Your Android Device?
„PQShield has kept going on its path as a leader and innovator in hardware and software post-quantum security. Fixel said in a statement, “As the end of the NIST PQC project draws near, we expect newly approved standards to spark the quantum security market and speed up the adoption of PQC throughout the technology supply chain.” “With decades of experience between them, PQShield’s industry-leading team has created the best product in its field, which is already the market leader.” We can’t wait for the company to build on its current business success and keep our digital future safe.
What do you say about this story? Visit Parhlo World For more.
