DigiCert, Gemalto, and ISARA Corp. have teamed up to develop “quantum-safe” digital security certificates and key management solutions for the Internet of Things, the companies have announced.

What does that mean? It’s an anticipation of the emergence of powerful quantum computers, which are expected to offer a level of computing power that allows them to run code-cracking algorithms that can’t feasibly run on today’s computers. “Quantum-safe” cryptography is designed to resist even these kinds of attacks, should they ever come into play.

That technology comes by way of Waterloo-based ISARA, while DigiCert brings to the partnership its scalable Public Key Infrastructure technologies, and Gemalto delivers its SafeNet Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), which can be integrated with DigiCert’s APIs. In a statement announcing their partnership, the companies asserted that their collaboration “will enable quantum-resistant certificates with the full capability of hosted, on-premise and hybrid deployment options.”

The companies say they are already working with “industry standards bodies that also are pursuing the advancement of post-quantum cryptography, such as the Internet Engineering Task Force”, and point to the example of emerging smart cars as an example of an area where secure PKI technology will need to have a long lifespan and thus be able to resists quantum computer attacks. As the quantum threat starts to come into view, the companies’ solutions may well prove highly popular, especially as cars and various other devices go online and join the Internet of Things.