Thales powers CES-winning post-quantum chip

• Thales has established a strategic partnership with Samsung Electronics
• this Samsung chip provides robust long-term confidentiality and authentication against future threats.
• This partnership underscores the necessity of post-quantum security

Thales has established a strategic partnership with Samsung Electronics to introduce an award-winning security chip that received the CES 2026 recognition for 'Best Cybersecurity Innovation'. This chip is distinguished as the first embedded Secure Element (eSE) to incorporate post-quantum cryptography (PQC), effectively addressing the emerging threats posed by quantum computing to enhance device security.

The integration of Thales’ secure operating system with this advanced chip facilitates high performance and energy efficiency while ensuring long-term data protection. The advent of quantum computers presents significant challenges to existing encryption standards, rendering the development of such technologies imperative.

The fortified operating system provided by Thales equips the Samsung chip with hardware-based, quantum-resistant security mechanisms, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of encrypted data from the initial activation of devices. This measure is especially critical considering that adversaries can currently collect and retain encrypted data, intending to decrypt it once quantum capabilities become available, a tactic commonly referred to as "harvest now, decrypt later."

This partnership underscores the necessity of post-quantum security, affirming that effective protection is essential not only for high-end systems but also for a wide array of connected devices. Eva Rudin, Vice President at Thales, described this accomplishment as transformative, while Hwa Yeal Yu, Vice President at Samsung, emphasized the successful collaboration in integrating hardware and software to enhance security solutions for the next generation of interconnected devices.

By optimising performance in cryptographic operations with minimal power and memory consumption, this Samsung chip provides robust long-term confidentiality and authentication against future threats. Through this collaboration, Thales and Samsung are establishing a new standard for embedded cybersecurity within the industry.