“When I joined the team, Xiphera’s marketing already had a strong foundation. That made it easier to develop new, measurable strategies”, she states when asked, how Xiphera’s marketing strategy has changed in the past year. “For me, measurability is key. It’s essential to track what works and what doesn’t, using data to guide our actions.”

With a strong background in sales, Reija emphasizes the importance of aligning marketing and sales within a company. “It’s been great to see how closely sales and marketing work together here at Xiphera,” she says. “I believe it’s important that marketing and sales communicate openly. Everything we do in marketing helps move the business forward, whether the results come quickly or over time. To me, it doesn’t make sense to keep the two separate.”

Beyond strengthening Xiphera’s industry presence, Reija focuses on keeping a steady flow of inbound leads. “Because of my sales background, I focus on bringing in new opportunities and keeping the pipeline active. At the end of the day, marketing helps drive revenue.”

Reija began her career at Xiphera working remotely from home, which made it harder to break into the industry. Without her colleagues nearby, she struggled to get into cryptography. During her first year at Xiphera, a positive change has been the company’s expansion to Tampere, where we now have an office.

For Reija, one of the best things in her role at Xiphera, is that marketing is truly valued. She feels trusted in her expertise and has the freedom to explore different ways of doing marketing.

“Cryptography isn’t the easiest subject for sure, but from day one I’ve been supported by experts and am learning something new every day. That’s what makes this role so interesting,” Reija says.

“We want to be one of the world-recognized experts and leaders in hardware-based security and cryptography, and to achieve that, we need to systematically build our brand image on all platforms. One other significant change since I started has been our marketing team growing to two people. This creates an opportunity to make our marketing even more impactful. In particular, Sara Brax’s strong graphic design skills help strengthen our visual identity.”

Xiphera’s marketing focuses on further developing our brand, website, and user experience, while also strengthening our visual identity. By closely tracking user flows, we ensure every interaction is intuitive, helping people find exactly what they need, faster and with ease.

Why? Because we believe that great design is not just about aesthetics. It’s about creating seamless experiences that connect with our audience.

Reflecting on the past year, Reija pauses for a moment before smiling and summing it up:

“A year of stepping outside of my comfort zone and embracing constant learning. Cryptography is a field where there’s always more to discover and accepting that I can’t know everything has been tough. The challenges are real, but so are the rewards. It’s exciting to market Xiphera’s world-class solutions, especially at a time when cybersecurity is more important than ever.”

The findings highlight a clear concern. Around 50% of GEO satellite links still transmit unencrypted IP traffic. While encryption has long been standard for satellite TV, many IP-based communications lack sufficient link- and network-layer protection. As a result, sensitive data can be exposed.

Encryption gaps in satellite networks

The study further shows that network-layer encryption, such as IPSec, is rarely used in private satellite networks. Unlike the public internet, where TLS is standard, internal satellite communications often remain unprotected.

At the same time, this is not just a theoretical risk. According to Financial Times, Russian satellites have maneuvered close to European communication satellites and may have intercepted or monitored their data traffic, in some cases remaining nearby for weeks. The situation is particularly concerning because some older satellites still rely on unencrypted links, including control and command channels, increasing the risk of exposure.

What this means for organisations and how to secure satellite communications

Taken together, these findings highlight a clear reality: satellite communications are both vulnerable and actively targeted. Organisations relying on GEO satellites may be exposing sensitive data, from operational systems to internal communications, without realising it. The long-standing assumption that satellite links are inherently secure no longer holds.

This is where Xiphera can make a real difference. With hardware-based, quantum-resistant cryptographic solutions, Xiphera helps satellite operators secure their networks from the ground up.

Xiphera’s portfolio covers the full spectrum of satellite security from Secure Boot and TRNG to AES-256-GCM and post-quantum cryptography, enabling protection across both link and network layers.

Fully hardware-based designs reduce attack surface and ensure reliable operation in space. With Xiphera, satellite operators can protect sensitive data, prevent leaks, and strengthen their systems against current and future threats.

Conclusion

Satellite links can no longer be assumed secure. In a world where both technical vulnerabilities and geopolitical threats are increasing, security must be built in by design, from the ground up.
Learn more about how Xiphera secures satellite systems.

Read the full research here: Don’t Look Up: There Are Sensitive Internal Links in the Clear on GEO Satellites
Read Financial Times article here.

Kimmo Järvinen is a hardware cryptography engineer and researcher with nearly 20 years of experience in the field. He has authored more than 60 scientific publications on cryptography, cryptographic engineering, and secure embedded systems, and holds a PhD in electrical engineering from Helsinki University of Technology.

According to Järvinen, post-quantum cryptography will be an important part of the future, but it will not replace the rest of the cryptographic toolbox.

Why quantum computers threaten some cryptography

The main risk posed by quantum computing targets public-key cryptography. Algorithms such as RSA and elliptic curve cryptography rely on mathematical problems that are extremely difficult for classical computers to solve. However, if sufficiently powerful quantum computers become available, Shor’s algorithm could solve these problems significantly faster.

This means an attacker could derive private keys from public keys, breaking the security assumptions behind widely used cryptographic systems.

“This is why post-quantum cryptography is being developed,” Järvinen explains. “If large-scale quantum computers become available, the mathematical foundations of current public-key systems would no longer provide sufficient security.”

As a result, new algorithms such as ML-KEM and ML-DSA are being standardized to replace vulnerable public-key methods.

Not all cryptography is vulnerable to quantum attacks

Despite the attention given to post-quantum cryptography, quantum computing does not threaten all cryptographic algorithms. Secure systems also rely on symmetric encryption, hash functions, and random number generation, which remain essential even in the post-quantum era.

For example, symmetric encryption algorithms such as AES are not broken by known quantum algorithms. The theoretical advantage provided by Grover’s algorithm can be mitigated by increasing key sizes, for example, by using AES-256.

This means that much of the cryptographic infrastructure used today will continue to play a key role in secure systems.

Cryptography is a system, not a single algorithm

Modern security protocols combine multiple cryptographic components, each serving a specific purpose. A good example is HTTPS. When a browser connects to a server, the TLS handshake uses public-key cryptography to authenticate the server and establish a shared secret. Once the secure session has been established, the actual data exchange is protected using symmetric encryption, typically AES.

“In real systems, cryptography always works as a combination of algorithms,” Järvinen says. “Public-key cryptography is just one part of the overall security architecture.”

Why hybrid cryptography is emerging

Another reason the transition will take time is the relative novelty of post-quantum algorithms. Although they have been carefully studied and standardized, classical algorithms such as RSA and elliptic curve cryptography have been analyzed for decades. Because of this, many experts recommend to use hybrid approaches.

Hybrid cryptography combines traditional public-key algorithms with post-quantum algorithms. This ensures security even if weaknesses are discovered in newly introduced PQC methods.

Conclusion

Post-quantum cryptography will play an important role in preparing for a future where quantum computers may exist. One of the key concerns is the so-called “harvest now, decrypt later” threat, where encrypted data is collected today and stored in the hope that future quantum computers could eventually break the encryption.

But post-quantum cryptography will not replace the full set of cryptographic technologies used today. Instead, future systems will rely on layered security architectures, combining classical and post-quantum cryptography. “Quantum-safe algorithms are essential for the future,” Järvinen concludes. “But secure systems will always require more than just one type of cryptography.”

At Xiphera, we design hardware-based cryptographic IP cores that support both classical and post-quantum algorithms for FPGA and ASIC designs. If you are evaluating how to build quantum-safe systems or planning your cryptographic transition, our team is happy to discuss secure architecture options.

“We were able to confirm together with Lockheed Martin that our joint defense technology development work is producing results and has the potential to lead to further cooperation in the future. It was impressive to see the first Finnish F-35 fighters being built on the assembly line,” says Jouni Hautamäki, CEO of Crosshill.

First outcomes of the project, from research to physical prototypes and initial testing capabilities, have been reviewed at Crosshill’s new premises in Tampere. The consortium is pleased with the progress and remains focused on the work ahead over the next 18 months, until it concludes in spring 2027.

The completion of Finland’s first F-35 fighter was celebrated at a rollout ceremony on December 16, 2025, at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Texas, facility.

Crosshill designs, tests, and manufactures highly secure electronic systems for defense, aerospace, telecom, and space applications. We protect systems against modern attacks and tampering attempts to ensure security and operational capabilities in all circumstances. Crosshill also offers advanced security testing services to evaluate the overall security level of electronic systems and devices. State-of-the-art passive and active testing methods are applied for both semiconductor and board level security assessments.
www.crosshill.fi

DNV Cyber is a leading cybersecurity services provider that empowers businesses with complex needs to become safer and more resilient. A global team of more than 500 experts brings over 30 years of IT and industrial control system security experience to help customers in multiple industry sectors breathe easier and perform better.
www.dnv.com/cyber/

Habilito is a cybersecurity-specialized company, whose parent company is Cinia Oy. Cinia is majority-owned by the State of Finland. Habilito’s hand-picked staff have unique cybersecurity skills to secure information systems related to national security. Habilito was founded in 2024 to enable the countermeasures of ever-growing cyberthreats.
www.habilito.fi

Xiphera designs and implements hardware-based security using proven cryptographic algorithms. The broad, fully in-house designed, and up-to-date portfolio includes secure and highly optimized cryptographic solutions designed directly for Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) and Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC). With strong cryptographic expertise, as well as extensive experience in digital logic and system design, Xiphera provides peace of mind in a dangerous world.
www.xiphera.com

The original press release can be found here.

International business continues to be the driving force behind our growth. Around three quarters of our revenue came from outside Finland, demonstrating once again that our appeal is global and that Finnish cybersecurity technology maintains a strong reputation.

Partnerships played an important role during the year: we launched a collaboration with iWave, initiated a partnership with Siemens Cre8Ventures, and strengthened our foothold in Asia by appointing Austin Electric as our sales partner in Korea.

We also received meaningful external recognition. In May, we were honoured with the ECSO Startup Award, and later we were included in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list as well as Kauppalehti’s Menestyjät (Achievers) ranking. These acknowledgements reflect steady, disciplined execution in a deep-tech domain where trust and technical rigour matter.

Throughout 2025, our extended team was active across Europe, North America, and Asia, participating in industry and customer events. These interactions remain essential for building relationships, understanding market requirements, and demonstrating that hardware-based cryptography is increasingly necessary in modern customer applications.

On the product side, the year was equally strong. We launched our Quantum-Secure Boot IP core, a key enabler for post-quantum protection in embedded systems. We progressed with additional CAVP certifications and continued expanding our system-level security solutions, which are becoming a larger and increasingly important part of our offering.

We also benefited from the continued support of Business Finland, especially through the BlimPQC and FHE+ZKP projects, which help accelerate the development of our post-quantum and confidential-computing technologies. In parallel, we continued contributing to long-term international initiatives such as the F-35 Indirect Industrial Participation (IIP) and European Space Agency (ESA) projects, further strengthening both our technical capabilities and our global relevance.

Strategically, 2025 reinforced our commitment to being a one-stop shop for hardware-based cryptography. Our product families — including nQrux, xQlave, and our hardware-accelerated security protocol engines — together with a comprehensive portfolio of fundamental cryptographic building blocks, give our customers a trusted, single partner for complete security architectures. Increasingly, customers value the ability to source secure, transparent, and verifiable IP cores from one provider.

Internally, our team remained stable and continued to grow professionally. During the year, Reija Stenroos joined Xiphera as our Marketing Director, building on the solid foundation already in place and supporting our ongoing efforts to strengthen communications and external visibility.

Financially, we achieved the highest revenue in our company’s history in 2025 and further strengthened our balance sheet, giving us a solid basis for future investments and scale-up activities. For a deep-tech company operating in a specialised field, this stability is both an achievement and a strategic advantage.

Looking back, 2025 was not defined by dramatic shifts but by consistent, meaningful progress. We strengthened our foundations, expanded our international presence, deepened our partnerships, and advanced the technologies that will define our future. As we enter 2026, we do so as a focused and confident growth company committed to delivering hardware cryptography that our customers can rely on for decades. Early in the year, we will also strengthen the Xiphera team through new recruitments to serve our customers even better and to support the next phase of our development.

I am looking forward to what 2026 brings. Wishing you a successful and inspiring start to the new year.

Matti Tommiska

Why CAVP matters?

• Independent verification and standards compliance
• Assurance that cryptography behaves as intended in deployment
• Confidence for long-term security planning in critical systems

Xiphera’s xQlave® PQC portfolio is built for ASIC and FPGA environments with the highest security requirements over long product lifecycles.

ML-KEM provides systems with quantum-resilient key exchange, and ML-DSA delivers Post-Quantum Digital Signatures to authenticate devices and users, ensuring system integrity. Both are implemented as pure RTL logic design with no hidden software, minimizing the attack surface and supporting predictable execution for demanding use cases.

These hardware-based PQC solutions support a wide range of security-critical industries, including defense, energy, telecommunications, industrial automation and space.

Now is the time to adopt hardware-based security that delivers predictable protection for decades and beyond.

Read more about CAVP Validated Post-Quantum Security.

Xiphera specializes in hardware-based security solutions implemented as pure digital logic for FPGAs and ASICs. The company provides standardized and quantum-resistant security solutions designed for industries where reliability, high performance, and minimized attack surface are critical. Xiphera solutions include implementations of security protocols such as MACsec and IPsec, as well as the latest Post-Quantum Cryptography standards.

iWave is a global leader in high-performance FPGA System on Modules (SoMs), COTS modules such as 3U VPX and PCIe cards, and a growing portfolio of SmartNIC solutions. Our products are built around cutting-edge FPGAs including Agilex™ 3, Agilex™ 5, Agilex™ 7, Agilex™ 9, Arria® 10, and Stratix® 10—enabling innovation across a wide range of applications. This includes technical support during evaluation, ODM design services such as system design, carrier card development, thermal simulation and certifications.

“Xiphera’s cryptographic IP, combined with iWave’s boards and solutions on the extensive portfolio of Altera FPGAs, enables developers to build and accelerate secure, high-performance solutions on Altera FPGAs. This collaboration highlights the strength of our ecosystem and demonstrates how Altera technology can accelerate innovation in these applications,” says Mark Moran, Director of Dev Kits and Partners at Altera.

Both Xiphera and iWave serve industries such as industrial, automotive, aerospace, defense, and IoT, where security, performance, and long product lifecycles are essential. This shared industry focus creates clear synergies: Xiphera’s advanced cryptographic IP cores complement iWave’s boards and solutions, offering customers integrated solutions that are both secure and practical to implement.

“Working with iWave supports our mission to deliver secure and high-performance security solutions in an accessible format. iWave’s extensive experience in FPGA platforms perfectly complements our expertise in security,” says Tommi Lampila, CRO of Xiphera Ltd. He continues, “By leveraging Altera technology alongside iWave’s platforms, we are able to offer even more robust and secure solutions. We are excited to deliver high-value solutions based on this collaboration to our customers.”

“This partnership between iWave and Xiphera enables our customers to adopt advanced security solutions with confidence,” says Tawfeeq Ahmad, Director of Marketing at iWave. “Xiphera’s extensive expertise in security and cryptography adds strong value to iWave’s Altera FPGA–based boards and solutions, especially with the growing need for robust edge security.”

Xiphera will showcase its PQC demo on iWave’s Agilex 5 SoM Evaluation Kit at Altera Innovators Day on September 30 in San Jose, CA.

For further information:
Tommi Lampila 
CRO
Xiphera
tommi.lampila@xiphera.com

Tawfeeq Ahmad
Director – Product Marketing
iWave
tawfeeq.ahmad@iwave-global.com

About Xiphera

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Finland, Xiphera specializes in hardware-based cryptographic solutions for sectors such as automotive, industrial IoT, data centers, communications, and space. With a growing portfolio of 30+ off-the-shelf IP cores and a commitment to advancing post-quantum cryptography, Xiphera delivers state-of-the-art security tailored for mission-critical applications.

To learn more about Xiphera’s solutions, visit www.xiphera.com.

About iWave

iWave is an embedded systems engineering and solutions company, designing solutions for the Industrial, Medical, Automotive, and Avionics vertical markets. Building on embedded expertise since 1999, iWave offers an extensive portfolio of high-performance FPGA System on Modules and embedded computing platforms enabling customers in their product development journey.

Learn more about iWave at www.iwave-global.com. 

The project focuses on accelerating Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) and Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) computation methods on FPGA and ASIC platforms. This enables data processing while fully encrypted, significantly faster and more energy-efficient than current software-based solutions.

“The funding enables both deep and applied research activities in a technologically challenging area of cryptography. We expect this research to lead to a significant leap toward commercializable FHE and ZKP solutions,” says Petri Jehkonen, Director of Strategic Programs at Xiphera.

Use cases and commercial opportunities:

• Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) enables data to be processed directly in encrypted form, eliminating the need for decryption. For example, banks or hospitals can analyze data securely, without exposing private information to outsiders.
• Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) enables the verification of information or computations without revealing the information itself. For instance, a bank can verify a customer’s data or the validity of a transaction without disclosing additional details.

The project’s key objectives include analyzing the most promising hardware-accelerated FHE and ZKP methods, developing a Proof-of-Concept accelerator, and demonstrating the technology in an FPGA environment. In addition, the project will deliver an evaluation framework and application analysis for the commercialization potential of these technologies.

“With these solutions, we aim to position ourselves at the international forefront of this technology, opening doors to new business opportunities in both the private and public sectors,” Jehkonen concludes.

“At Xiphera, we focus on building highly secure and optimised cryptographic IP cores for ASICs and FPGAs,” said Tommi Lampila, Chief Revenue Officer at Xiphera. “Our hardware-based security solutions are engineered to protect critical systems from data breaches, unauthorized access, and the evolving threat landscape. Through our partnership with Austin Electric, we can now serve the South Korean market more effectively with trusted, high-performance security technology.”

Driving Secure Semiconductor Innovation in South Korea

South Korea’s semiconductor industry—valued at USD 115.7 billion in 2024—is one of the most advanced in the world and is expected to more than double by 2034. As a key player in chip manufacturing, South Korea plays a pivotal role in driving secure digital infrastructure. Xiphera contributes to this ecosystem by offering cryptographic IP cores that embed security directly into silicon, ensuring that protection is foundational, not an add-on.

Austin Electric, a well-established electronics company based in South Korea, will represent Xiphera locally and support the integration of its cryptographic IP solutions across Korean industry verticals.

“Korea is a technology leader in IT, automotive, and semiconductor industries, and recently entered the Industrial 4.0 revolution, so we believe that Xiphera’s semiconductor (hardware) based encryption and cyber security IP solutions will play a great role across AI, military defense, IoT, smart home appliances, and smart factory industries, and we are confident that the Korean market will be a stepstone for us to expand globally,” said Kenny Yoon, CMO of Austin Electric.

This partnership marks an important milestone in Xiphera’s international growth and reinforces the company’s commitment to delivering robust, transparent, and future-proof cryptographic solutions to customers worldwide.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Tommi Lampila
CRO
Xiphera Ltd
tommi.lampila@xiphera.com

Kenny Yoon
CMO
Austin Electric Co., Ltd
kenny.yoon@austin.electric.co.kr

About Xiphera

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Finland, Xiphera specialises in hardware-based cryptographic solutions for sectors such as automotive, industrial IoT, data centers, communications, and space. With a growing portfolio of 30+ off-the-shelf IP cores and a commitment to advancing post-quantum cryptography, Xiphera delivers state-of-the-art security tailored for mission-critical applications.

To learn more about Xiphera’s solutions, visit www.xiphera.com.

About Austin Electric

South Korea based Austin Electric is a semiconductor and IP business developer and distributor that has been supplying semiconductors, communication modules and IP to major Korean manufacturers and research institutes for various markets and applications. Since its establishment in 2011, Austin Electric has provided customers with stabilized solutions and integrated technical support services based on its experience and know-how accumulated over 20 years of extensive business development and support in IOT, audio video, electric vehicle, FGPA, etc.  In addition, Austin Electric aims to support the development of next-generation communication equipment, smart devices, and AI devices by collecting and optimising expertise in each application area and providing bundled software tools and services, and is playing a leading role in the field of system semiconductor (hardware) based cyber security in Korea.

To learn more about Austin Electric, visit www.austin-electric.co.kr.

The development of quantum computers is progressing rapidly. According to some estimates, quantum computers might be capable of break current cryptographic methods in the 2030s—methods used today to secure sensitive personal data, critical systems, and trade secrets.

However, this is not just a future threat. There are indications that various actors—possibly state-sponsored or criminal—are already storing encrypted data, intending to decrypt it later by leveraging new methods enabled with quantum computers. The project will produce quantum-safe solutions and methods to mitigate this risk.

Evolving Global Legislation

At the same time, legislation in various countries is evolving rapidly:

• U.S. authorities require federal systems to transition to quantum-safe algorithms by 2030.
• The United Kingdom has announced it will ban vulnerable legacy cryptographic methods by 2035.

Xiphera’s Role: Hardware-Based Quantum Security

Xiphera brings its strong expertise in hardware-based cryptography to the project. The company participates in several work packages, two of which are particularly critical for hardware-based encryption:

• Xiphera is researching side-channel protected implementations of quantum-safe algorithms. These protections ensure that quantum-safe ciphers remain secure even against advanced hardware-level attackers.
• Xiphera is also involved in developing a quantum-safe prototype. This prototype will provide essential insights for both industry and society into the implications of implementing quantum-safe algorithms in products and infrastructure.

“It is essential that Finland is at the forefront in developing and deploying quantum-safe solutions. The adoption of quantum-safe algorithms is not just a technical upgrade—it is a cornerstone for the future of our digital society and a vital component of cybersecurity assurance. The BLimPQC project lays the foundation for national security and European sovereignty on many levels,” says Petri Jehkonen, Director of Strategic Programs at Xiphera.

Broad Collaboration for Finland’s Security

Partners in the BLimPQC project include VTT, Aalto University, the University of Helsinki, and the University of Oulu. Corporate partners are Bittium, SSH, Xiphera, Jutel, Icareus, and Ericsson. The steering group includes Traficom, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, and the Finnish Defence Forces.

Further Details About the Research Project:
Beyond the Limits of Post-Quantum Cryptography is a project that aims to solve cybersecurity challenges posed by quantum computers to ensure quantum-safe Finland. The project is funded by Business Finland and is part of Bittium’s Seamless and Secure Connectivity Ecosystem project in Business Finland’s Veturi-program. The project brings together members of the industry, academic research organisations, and key stakeholders from the government. This results in a beneficial cooperation within the project between all the participants. In addition to the national consortium, the project partners will work with leading international partners in their research endeavours. For more information: https://www.pqc.fi/.