Securing the Silicon: How HP Designed Quantum-Safe Hardware from the Ground Up

Episode notes

As quantum computing advances, organisations can no longer treat hardware migration as a secondary task. Thalia Laing, Principal Cryptographer at HP Security Lab, explains how HP adopted a hardware-first approach to post-quantum security by launching the world’s first quantum-safe Secure Boot for business PCs ahead of NIST standards. She describes how HP integrated hybrid RSA + LMS signatures to preserve certification assurance and user performance while adding quantum-safe protection at power-on. Thalia outlines the operational design behind LMS state management, parameter selection, and cross-team testing to ensure verification speed and long-term reliability. She details why many enterprises overlook hardware-implemented cryptography in their inventories and how this blind spot undermines migration plans. She highlights how securing firmware integrity extends device lifespan and builds measurable confidence across product lines. The discussion reinforces that protecting the hardware root of trust is the first step toward true post-quantum resilience. What You’ll Learn: How HP built quantum-safe Secure Boot into production PCs before PQC standards were finalised.