Crypto Quantique, a specialist in quantum-driven cyber security, is to make its QuarkLink universal IoT security platform available to semiconductor manufacturers and systems integrators that use their own root-of-trust (RoT) or those sourced from other vendors.

The platform was originally designed to work with Crypto Quantique’s own quantum-derived RoT IP, called QDID.

The QuarkLink platform’s capabilities are more comprehensive than typical key management services. It handles provisioning, including secure firmware and cryptographic keys, automated secure onboarding, and security monitoring, including firmware encryption, signing and secure updates over-the-air, and certificate and key renewal and revocation.

With some RoTs, including QDID, QuarkLink eliminates the need for hardware security modules and key injection, saving cost and time while increasing security.

QuarkLink can be set up in minutes by engineers without specialist IoT security knowledge. End-point devices are then connected to servers through cryptographic APIs, using a few keystrokes to initiate an automated process capable of onboarding thousands of devices in seconds to a server platform, or to multiple platforms simultaneously.

AWS, Microsoft and Mosquito are among the cloud services supported; more will follow.

“Making QuarkLink available for use with root-of-trust other than our own enables engineers to rapidly and securely scale IoT deployments for their existing devices,” said Shahram Mossayebi, CEO of UK-based Crypto Quantique. “It also creates a seamless path for upgrading to our own unforgeable root-of-trust IP, QDID, in future designs.

QDID generates random, unforgeable cryptographic keys on-demand in silicon by measuring the quantum effects in chips manufactured on standard CMOS processes.

Crypto Quantique has created a secure end-to-end IoT security platform. At its heart is quantum-driven semiconductor hardware IP, called QDID, that generates multiple, unique, unforgeable cryptographic keys for devices manufactured using standard CMOS processes.

The keys do not need to be stored and can be used independently by multiple applications on demand. When combined with cryptographic APIs from QuarkLink, it creates a secure bridge between silicon, device, software and provider.

The company, which is based in London, was co-founded by Mossayebi, an expert in cryptosystems, and CTO Patrick Camilleri, a semiconductor designer with experience in complex parallel computers.