Sitehop, the Sheffield-based post-quantum cybersecurity specialist, has launched a national security unit to help the UK and its Five Eyes allies secure ageing defence networks without disrupting critical systems already in service.
The launch comes as defence and security bodies across the West race to protect legacy infrastructure in the face of mounting cyber threats from AI and quantum computing. Much of the legacy equipment operating throughout defence estates cannot be upgraded to modern cryptographic standards, according to Sitehop.
The unit builds on Sitehop’s track record, including deployment with a leading tier-one global telecommunications provider across seven countries and an ongoing trial with a major UK retailer to secure payment data.
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Sitehop has also developed the world’s smallest post-quantum encryption device, SAFEcore Edge, which is purpose-built to protect operational technology networks in the field, and was the first external company admitted to BT’s flagship test facility to run a proof-of-concept on its network.
Designed and built entirely in the UK, Sitehop’s technology gives the UK and allied governments a sovereign alternative to systems developed overseas, at a time when supply chain security has become a defence priority.
Sitehop’s technology takes a different approach to the incumbent software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) products that have become embedded across defence and enterprise networks. It is built on reprogrammable hardware rather than a software stack.
Conventional systems combine management, configuration, and customer data on the same processor, running on layers of software that can each introduce vulnerabilities. This weakness has been exploited in a number of recent high-profile breaches affecting both government and private sector networks.
Sitehop’s hardware is also tamper resistant. If a device is compromised or physically interfered with, it wipes itself and reverts to a factory state, ensuring sensitive data cannot be recovered, even when the equipment is powered down.
Melissa Chambers, co-founder and CEO, said: “Across the defence sector, legacy networks running on conventional software are vulnerable today, not just in the quantum-powered future. Governments and their allies can’t afford to wait for lengthy replacement programmes while that risk exists.”
Ben Harper, co-founder and CTO, who built his career in defence and intelligence technology at a leading UK defence prime contractor, added: “We secure this equipment at the network layer instead, without touching the underlying systems. It gives defence and security bodies a faster, lower-risk way to guard against evolving threats from AI and ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ attacks.”
