Keysight Technologies has announced a new addition to their Keysight Inspector platform, establishing an industry-first automated solution aimed at testing the robustness of post-quantum cryptography (PQC). This enhancement significantly broadens the capabilities of the comprehensive device and chip security platform, which aids vendors in detecting and mitigating hardware vulnerabilities.
With the rapid advancements in quantum computing, which can process complex calculations at unprecedented speeds, there is a growing threat to current encryption technologies such as RSA and ECC. These methods, while robust in today's computing environment, could soon be easily bypassed by quantum computers. In response, the industry is developing new PQC encryption algorithms intended to secure applications where data must remain encrypted for future decryption.
Keysight Inspector, a pivotal part of Keysight's security efforts following the acquisition of the security research and test lab Riscure, now includes capabilities to test implementations of the Dilithium algorithm, a PQC method endorsed by NIST. This allows hardware designers to ensure that their products are safeguarded against both current and emerging threats, a crucial development for government bodies and security testing labs needing to validate the strength of third-party products.
Marc Witteman, Director of the Device Security Research Lab at Keysight, emphasized the importance of this development, stating, “Post-quantum resilience does not guarantee total security. We have observed incidents when the latest post-quantum encryption technology suffers from hardware-based threats. With this technology being implemented at a larger scale, the need for comprehensive testing becomes apparent. We are addressing this need by adding post-quantum algorithm testing capability to the Keysight Inspector solution, our comprehensive device security testing platform.”
The company is also working closely with PQShield, a leading developer of PQC solutions. Dr. Axel Poschmann, Vice President of Product at PQShield, highlighted the collaborative efforts, saying, “Keysight will help us verify the robustness of our implementations at an early stage. Building on our original work with Riscure within the Keysight portfolio is exciting and we are looking forward to continuing this journey.”
As PQC continues to gain traction across various industries, Keysight anticipates the introduction of numerous new security algorithms that will require rigorous testing and certification. The company is committed to providing these services through the expanded capabilities of Keysight Inspector, which can also analyze silicon design and simulate hardware code pre-silicon to further secure technology implementations.
Comments