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Quantum computing breakthroughs and the rise of post-quantum regulation

Rise_of_post-quantum_calculation

1. Why quantum security matters today: the HNDL threat + Regulatory acceleration

Quantum innovation is accelerating — but today’s urgency is not technical.It comes from a far more immediate threat:

Harvest Now, Decrypt Later (HNDL)

Even if no quantum machine today can break RSA or ECC, attackers can already:

  • collect encrypted government data

  • steal corporate IP

  • intercept healthcare records

  • capture industrial/IoT telemetry

  • scrape intelligence archives

This stolen data can be stored today and decrypted later once quantum computers mature.

This is why regulations are accelerating everywhere.

Governments know that data stolen today will still matter in 10, 20 or 30 years. Therefore, post-quantum cryptography must be deployed before quantum computers arrive — not after.

This explains the rapid wave of regulatory initiatives:

  • U.S. CNSA 2.0 mandate (2025–2030)

  • EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)

  • NIS2 Directive

  • ETSI PQC recommendations

  • National PQC programs

France’s ANSSI has published a national post-quantum roadmap recommending:

  • hybrid classical/PQC mechanisms

  • long-term data protection

  • PQC inclusion in certified security products

ANSSI's recommendations reinforce Europe’s regulatory momentum alongside NIS2 and the CRA.

These frameworks exist because quantum capability is predictable, but data theft is happening right now. Regulators have concluded that waiting for fault-tolerant quantum machines is too late.

 

 

2. SEALSQ’s response: a global, sovereign, quantum-resilient trust architecture

To address both regulatory pressure and the HNDL threat, SEALSQ is building a sovereign, end-to-end post-quantum trust ecosystem, including:

  • PQC-ready secure semiconductors (Quantum Shield QS7001)

  • Sovereign Roots of Trust (Switzerland, U.S.)

  • PQC digital certificates and hybrid PKI

  • Secure satellite trust networks (WISeSat)

  • European semiconductor sovereignty (Spain’s Quantix EdgeS, France’s IC’Alps)

  • Integration with emerging quantum platforms

SEALSQ ensures that identity, cryptography, and hardware security evolve together — in line with global regulation.

 

 

3. Quantum computing breakthroughs: Where the technology stands (2025)

Quantum computing has reached a phase of tangible, verifiable progress:

  • maturing logical qubits

  • new materials and fabrication methods

  • hybrid quantum–classical architectures

  • rise of CMOS-compatible quantum chips

  • expansion of Quantum-as-a-Service (QaaS)

This momentum comes not only from global giants, but increasingly from European deep-tech innovators.

 

Breakthrough A — CMOS-compatible quantum chips 

A major milestone is CMOS-compatible quantum processing — linking quantum hardware to the industrial semiconductor ecosystem.

  • Quobly, with €21M raised, is developing a 100-qubit CMOS-compatible chip.

For SEALSQ, this is strategically critical. By embedding post-quantum Roots of Trust and hardware identities directly into quantum environments, SEALSQ ensures quantum power is always matched with cryptographic integrity.

Quantum without trust = amplified risk.

Read more about the collaboration here.

 

Breakthrough B — Distributed quantum computing

Quantum-as-a-Service (QaaS) is transforming how organizations access quantum capability.

SEALSQ has invested in ColibriTD to integrate QaaS into its own trust roadmap. As QaaS expands, trust must also be distributed:

        • secure identities

        • PQC certificates

        • hardware-anchored key material

        • sovereign Roots of Trust

SEALSQ delivers exactly this architecture.

Read more about the collaboration here.

 

Breakthrough C — Hybrid classical–Quantum models powered by AI-optimized hardware

The most significant practical advances in quantum computing today come from hybrid architectures, where classical acceleration and quantum processors work together. NVIDIA, IBM, Rigetti and others are demonstrating that real quantum utility emerges when GPUs handle the heavy classical lifting — such as simulation, error correction cycles, optimization loops, and circuit compilation — while quantum hardware executes the quantum portions.

AI-optimized GPUs have become the silent engine behind hybrid quantum progress, powering simulation, error correction, and optimization loops that allow today’s quantum systems to deliver real-world utility. As quantum and AI converge into distributed hybrid infrastructures, secure trust and device integrity become essential.

SEALSQ provides this trust foundation with PQC-ready secure silicon (QS7001), sovereign Roots of Trust, and certified device identities that ensure hybrid systems remain secure, verifiable, and compliant across borders.

 

 

Conclusion

Quantum computing is experiencing undeniable momentum — from CMOS-compatible chips to distributed QaaS platforms and hybrid classical–quantum architectures.  But today’s urgency does not come from the machines themselves. It comes from a clear and immediate reality: adversaries are already harvesting encrypted data to decrypt it later, and regulators worldwide are responding with unprecedented speed.

The U.S., Europe, France’s ANSSI, and many other governments now mandate a proactive transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography. This is no longer a theoretical exercise — it is a compliance, sovereignty, and long-term national-security imperative.

Against this backdrop, SEALSQ is building the trust infrastructure the quantum era requires: PQC-enabled secure semiconductors like the Quantum Shield QS7001, sovereign Roots of Trust in Switzerland and the United States, certified identity and PKI platforms, satellite-secured provisioning, and a European semiconductor ecosystem through Quantix EdgeS and IC’Alps.


Our engagement with next-generation innovators such as Quobly and ColibriTD ensures quantum power is paired with cryptographic integrity from day one.

The world is entering a new technological chapter where computing becomes quantum, distributed, hybrid — and deeply regulated.


Security must lead, not follow.


By engineering sovereignty, hardware-anchored trust, and post-quantum resilience at the foundation of digital systems, SEALSQ ensures that the quantum future remains secure, compliant, and trustworthy for decades to come.

 
Technology

Authored by SEALSQ