Hardware Manufacturers Accelerate Processor Chip Upgrades to Support Post

457/69 Monday, August 24, 2026 Leading hardware and processor chip manufacturers are accelerating the development of security capabilities by integrating post-quantum cryptography (PQC) into hardware to prepare for future cyber threats. Although quantum computers capable of breaking today’s cryptographic algorithms are still expected to take several years before reaching broad commercial availability, cybersecurity experts remain highly concerned about “harvest-now, decrypt-later” attacks. In this type of threat, attackers collect encrypted data today and store it until quantum technology becomes capable of decrypting it. Preparing to upgrade encryption systems now is therefore an urgent priority for organizations. In terms of technological progress, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) approved post-quantum cryptography standards in 2024 to strengthen protection for digital signatures and data encryption across public networks. Major manufacturers have already begun implementation. Intel has started supporting PQC in its Xeon 6 server chips and aims for all of its chips to support the standard by 2029. Nvidia is integrating the standard into the security layer of data processing, while IBM introduced a PQC cryptographic accelerator in its z16 mainframe hardware as early as 2022. Since legacy asymmetric encryption methods such as RSA and ECC are assessed to be vulnerable to quantum attacks, transitioning to PQC alongside quantum-resistant symmetric encryption such as AES-256 is an important mechanism for protecting data in the next era. Experts emphasize that upgrading processor chips is only the starting point. Organizations and agencies should begin planning and assessing their hardware infrastructure now to determine whether existing legacy systems or network devices can support new encryption standards. In some cases, replacing older equipment may be necessary. Administrators should prioritize the protection of sensitive data in transit across networks and consider using encryption technologies such as AES-256 as a baseline measure to reduce the risk of data interception. Source: https://www.darkreading.com/cyber-risk/hardware-makers-implement-post-quantum-cryptography