Future-proofing security for the quantum era

Quantum computers use the law of quantum physics to process data at speeds far beyond what today’s computers can achieve. While this brings tremendous opportunities, it also poses significant risks. Some day, quantum computers could break the public key cryptography algorithms (RSA, ECDSA) that currently secure online transactions. To address this challenge, Infineon has positioned itself at the forefront of research efforts and standardization initiatives, collaborating with the academic community, industry partners, and government institutions to develop and promote post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards with the ability to withstand these threats.

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A particular concern is the “harvest now, decrypt later” scenario, where threat actors store encrypted data for decryption once a powerful enough quantum computer becomes available. This could potentially be the case as early as the 2030 to 2035 timeframe. This emerging reality makes PQC essential to protect long-term digital assets across finance, government, and healthcare sectors. Industries already understand the critical role that PQC is set to play in their ability to protect their assets into the coming decade and beyond.

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PQC standardization

Post-quantum security solutions are not simple drop-in replacements for existing protocols. A smooth transition calls for changes to protocols and a transition period, marked for example by hybrid schemes (these could combine conventional cryptography with PQC) and the delivery of products capable of future in-field updates. This means that organizations will need to invest time and resources into updating their protocols and systems to support PQC. This can be a complex and time-consuming process.

Our answer to the transition challenge
We already provide a flexible hardware platform and software building blocks to enable hybrid schemes and in-field updates. Additionally, our team has extensive expertise and competence in implementing quantum cryptography, further enhancing our capabilities.

Key challenges in PQC – and how Infineon addresses them

PQC algorithms require more resources such as memory than conventional public key cryptography. Additionally, the key and signature sizes of PQC algorithms are significantly larger, which can impact data transfer times. For example, the key sizes for PQC algorithms can reach the size of several kilobytes, compared with a few hundred bits required for conventional elliptic curve cryptography. This may be a challenge for resource-constrained devices and can lead to higher bandwidth requirements and increased latency – even to the point where it would render a device useless.

Our answer to the computational challenge

We have implemented a flexible hardware accelerator with side-channel protection and increased the RAM size of our products. This allows for more efficient processing of PQC algorithms, reducing the computational overhead and enabling faster execution times without compromising security. Our products are designed to support the efficient implementation of PQC schemes such as ML-KEM (Kyber) and ML-DSA (Dilithium), which have been standardized according to NIST. By providing optimized hardware and software solutions, we are helping to mitigate the computational intensity of PQC schemes and are thus enabling the widespread adoption of PQC.

Securely implementing PQC is still a highly challenging task. While PQC algorithms are mathematically designed to withstand attacks from quantum computers, their complex structure and larger key sizes would make them vulnerable to fault- and side-channel attacks during operation if not appropriate countermeasures are taken. Traditional cryptography has benefited from decades of hardening against these attacks. By comparison, PQC is a relatively young research area. Securely implementing PQC requires a deep understanding of the underlying math as well as expertise in security implementation techniques.

Our answer to the implementation challenge

Our portfolio of TEGRION™ security controllers with Integrity Guard 32 and a hardware accelerator protected against side-channel attacks is designed for efficient and security-hardened PQC implementations. In 2025, we became the world’s first company to receive Common Criteria EAL6+ for our TEGRION™ security controller featuring a secured implementation of PQC algorithm.

The migration to post-quantum security requires a strong consensus on the algorithms to be deployed and a high level of trust in their security capabilities. After an almost decade-long public evaluation and selection process, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published the first standards for quantum cryptography in 2024. This publication standardizes one key encapsulation algorithm (ML-KEM), two general-purpose signature schemes (ML-DSA, SLH-DSA), as well as two special-purpose signature schemes (XMSS, LMS). As a result, important cryptographic services within public key infrastructures can now be realized in a quantum-secured way

PQC algorithms require more resources such as memory than conventional public key cryptography. Additionally, the key and signature sizes of PQC algorithms are significantly larger, which can impact data transfer times. For example, the key sizes for PQC algorithms can reach the size of several kilobytes, compared with a few hundred bits required for conventional elliptic curve cryptography. This may be a challenge for resource-constrained devices and can lead to higher bandwidth requirements and increased latency – even to the point where it would render a device useless.

Our answer to the computational challenge

We have implemented a flexible hardware accelerator with side-channel protection and increased the RAM size of our products. This allows for more efficient processing of PQC algorithms, reducing the computational overhead and enabling faster execution times without compromising security. Our products are designed to support the efficient implementation of PQC schemes such as ML-KEM (Kyber) and ML-DSA (Dilithium), which have been standardized according to NIST. By providing optimized hardware and software solutions, we are helping to mitigate the computational intensity of PQC schemes and are thus enabling the widespread adoption of PQC.

Securely implementing PQC is still a highly challenging task. While PQC algorithms are mathematically designed to withstand attacks from quantum computers, their complex structure and larger key sizes would make them vulnerable to fault- and side-channel attacks during operation if not appropriate countermeasures are taken. Traditional cryptography has benefited from decades of hardening against these attacks. By comparison, PQC is a relatively young research area. Securely implementing PQC requires a deep understanding of the underlying math as well as expertise in security implementation techniques.

Our answer to the implementation challenge

Our portfolio of TEGRION™ security controllers with Integrity Guard 32 and a hardware accelerator protected against side-channel attacks is designed for efficient and security-hardened PQC implementations. In 2025, we became the world’s first company to receive Common Criteria EAL6+ for our TEGRION™ security controller featuring a secured implementation of PQC algorithm.

The migration to post-quantum security requires a strong consensus on the algorithms to be deployed and a high level of trust in their security capabilities. After an almost decade-long public evaluation and selection process, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published the first standards for quantum cryptography in 2024. This publication standardizes one key encapsulation algorithm (ML-KEM), two general-purpose signature schemes (ML-DSA, SLH-DSA), as well as two special-purpose signature schemes (XMSS, LMS). As a result, important cryptographic services within public key infrastructures can now be realized in a quantum-secured way

Your trusted advisor in the PQC landscape

Having pioneered a series of breakthroughs in the field of PQC, we enable you to address today's and tomorrow’s PQC computational, implementation, and transition challenges.

-       Quantum-resilient longevity of products and data

Our PQC-ready platforms provide a clear migration path toward a quantum-resilient future. As the first company to receive Common Criteria EAL6+ certificate for a security controller with PQC implementation, the first company to offer a PQC solution with a trusted platform module (TPM), and a leading provider of hardware products with specific support for PQC, we are well positioned to support you in future-proofing your assets.

-       Fast G2M with a smooth certification process

To accelerate your time-to-market, we offer software that already enables PQC. This allows you to develop PQC-compliant secured products and applications, while continuing to focus on your core business. In addition, our hardware offering with the latest technologies – such as our unique Integrity Guard 32 hardware security architecture – gives you the benefit of a smooth hardware certification process with a short evaluation time.

In short, we cover all skills and building blocks required to act as your trusted advisor in the PQC space.