LONDON, May 30, 2023 — PQShield announced today a series of deals that reflect growing commercial demand for the real-world implementation of post-quantum cryptography (PQC). The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading IT Services, consulting, and business solutions organization, to help clients transition to quantum-secure solutions and a collaboration with eShard, a side-channel analysis and testing tools provider, to further accelerate advanced side-channel secured implementations of PQC that are critical for high-security standards across industries.

Commercial demand for quantum preparedness is surging following a series of developments that have put the issue high on the global cybersecurity agenda. The US, which serves as a global bellwether for cybersecurity policy, enacted the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act 2022 and provided additional guidance through the National Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (NCCoE) in early 2023 – both are designed to help organisations understand the security architecture in their networks and secure them against quantum-enabled cybersecurity threats.

Elsewhere, the UK government launched its landmark National Quantum Strategy in early 2023, as did Australia, while Germany outlined a national action plan for quantum computing. Late last year, the NSA issued specific guidance on the transition to post-quantum cryptography, mandating a transition for software by 2025.

PQShield recently launched its ‘Where is your Cryptography?’ whitepaper in conjunction with Robert Hannigan, Cybersecurity Adviser and former Director of GCHQ (who established the UK National Cyber Security Centre), to support organizations transition to post-quantum cryptography.

Today, the company announces the following agreements and partnerships, which all point to growing commercial demand for post-quantum cryptographic solutions and further advance its cryptographic IP.

In consulting, PQShield has signed an MoU with Tata Consultancy Services. Consultancies and systems integrators like TCS will be crucial to the global cryptography migration process. PQShield’s world-leading expertise and products will be used to support TCS’ clients who are working to modernize their cryptographic infrastructure and migrate to post-quantum cryptography. By partnering with TCS, businesses will be able to streamline their crypto modernisation efforts, minimise risks, and safeguard their businesses comprehensively.

In side-channel analysis, eShard, a leading provider of side-channel analysis and testing tools, entered a partnership to enable enhanced side-channel analysis and validation of PQShield’s secure hardware IP, especially for critical applications. This extends PQShield’s existing work to deliver trusted and highly-secure implementations of quantum-safe cryptography on chips, in applications and in the cloud, having already built a dedicated side-channel attack test lab with partner, Riscure.

In the last few months, the company has consolidated its position as the only established provider of post-quantum solutions at all stages of the post-quantum cryptography journey and launched a new, commercial licensing model to offer end-users, consultants and SIs comprehensive and flexible design, sales and manufacturing rights to its cryptographic IP, to cater for a variety of use-cases.

PQShield also continues to play a vital role in policymaking discussions and standard-setting projects, as well as supporting the wider global migration to post-quantum cryptography:

• In telecoms, PQShield advised on the GSMA’s Post Quantum Telco Impact Assessment White Paper, which recommends that network operators begin deploying post-quantum cryptography as soon as algorithms are standardised by NIST.
• In the migration to quantum-resistant cryptography, PQShield recently entered a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the NCCoE, the cybersecurity division of NIST, to develop practices to ease the migration to post-quantum cryptography from current public-key algorithms.
• In other policymaking and standard-setting discussions, PQShield also contributed to and led post-quantum cryptography projects with RISC-V, the Internet Engineering Task Force, GlobalPlatform, and the World Economic Forum, amongst others.
• PQShield is a leading contributor to the NIST process to standardise post-quantum cryptography that concludes this summer, and advised on or contributed to all of the algorithms announced in the first group of winners in July 2022.

PQShield’s CEO & founder, Ali El Kaafarani, said: “Quantum computers pose a particular threat to large organisations given the sprawling nature of their cryptographic infrastructure and their reliance on secure communications. We’re seeing a significant shift in the commercial landscape as more of these businesses wake up to the urgency of the problem and seek out a solution. We are encouraged that businesses like TCS are helping their clients to modernize their cryptography, as more businesses move beyond crypto-discovery to real-world implementation of post-quantum cryptographic solutions.”

About PQShield

PQShield is a post-quantum cryptography (PQC) company creating the global standards and core technologies to power the future security layer of the world’s leading organizations. Its quantum-secure cryptographic solutions work with companies’ legacy systems to protect sensitive data now and for years to come. It is the only cybersecurity company that can deliver high-quality secure implementations of quantum-safe cryptography on chips, in applications, and in the cloud, and is also an authority on PQC side channel attack resistance, having built a dedicated SCA test lab with partner, Riscure.

---

Source: PQShield