Samsung Electronics System LSI division oversees semiconductor design, has developed a security chip for quantum computing, and is ready to begin sample shipments. The division aims to enhance mobile security with the industry’s first hardware-based post-quantum cryptography (PQC) security chip.
Industry sources revealed on Wednesday that Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor (DS) division has completed the development of the “S3SSE2A” security chip, which incorporates hardware-based PQC, and is ready for sample shipments.
Quantum computers, which use quantum superposition in quantum mechanics, are considered a future technology that could solve humanity’s major problems by performing complex calculations that are currently impossible for regular computers. However, their advent also poses a significant threat to existing encryption systems. The immense computational capabilities of quantum computers could potentially undermine the security of public key cryptography (PKC), which relies on the factorization of large composite numbers.
The S3SSE2A security chip is designed to counter the threats posed by quantum computing. It features a structure that performs security operations and information storage independently from the application processor (AP). Unlike existing solutions that perform security operations within the AP’s security block, the S3SSE2A maximizes security by handling these tasks independently and only transmitting final results to the AP. The chip also incorporates the next-generation post-quantum cryptography standard (FIPS 204) established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Combining hardware and software for PQC operations achieves computation speeds approximately 17 times faster than software-only implementations.
An industry insider noted, “Samsung Electronics is actively investing in PQC R&D to bolster its security technology and plans to expand its security solutions based on this technology. This security chip represents a crucial milestone in Samsung Electronics’ security technology roadmap.”
Samsung Electronics continues to push the boundaries of security technology. The company’s latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S25, launched on February 7, features PQC functionality for the first time. Additionally, Samsung is advancing its Knox platform to enhance smartphone security and developing specialized chips for data encryption. It is expected to pursue research into AI-integrated security technologies aggressively.
