WISeKey International Holding AG announced that it has incorporated a new company with the name SEALSQ Corp. to lodge project QUASARS. WISeKey, through SEALSQ Corp, has taken affirmative steps to implement its QUASARS project.

The QUASARS project, is a radical innovative solution, based upon the new WISeKey Secure RISC V platform that is paving the way for the Post Quantum Cryptography era, offering hybrid solutions compliant with ANSSI's recommendations. Of note, WISeKey Semiconductors has received strong support from the French SCS (Secured Communicating Solutions) Cluster for its QUASARS project. Post-quantum cryptography refers to cryptographic methods that are secure against an attack by a quantum computer.

As quantum computers become more powerful, they may be able to break many of the cryptographic methods that are currently used to protect sensitive information, such as RSA and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). PQC aims to develop new cryptographic methods that are secure against quantum attacks. One example of a post-quantum technology is the lattice-based cryptography, a type of public-key cryptography based on the hardness of a mathematical problem called the Shortest Vector Problem (SVP) which is thought to be too difficult for a quantum computer to solve.

Lattice-based cryptography can be used for tasks such as digital signatures, key exchange, and encryption. Another example is code-based cryptography which is based on the difficulty of decoding certain algebraic structures called error-correcting codes. These codes can be used to create digital signatures, key exchange, and encryption schemes that are secure against quantum attacks.

It is worth noting that post-quantum cryptography is still in its early stages of development and there is ongoing research to identify and improve the most promising post-quantum techniques. WISeKey is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) project, a new secure platform, that will help define best practices for performing trusted network-layer onboarding, and aid in the implementation and use of trusted onboarding solutions for IoT devices at scale. For this project, WISeKey is working with NIST to define recommended practices for performing trusted network-layer onboarding, which will aid in the implementation and use of trusted onboarding solutions for IoT devices at scale.

The WISeKey contributions to the project will be Trust Services for credentials and secure semiconductors to keep credentials secure. Specifically, WISeKey will offer INeS Certificate Management Service (CMS) for issuing credentials and VaultIC secure semiconductors to provide tamperproof key storage and cryptographic acceleration.