WD securing disk drives with post-quantum cryptography

Western Digital has introduced the Ultrastar DC HC6100 UltraSMR hard disk drives with post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to protect against "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks, where adversaries collect encrypted data today to decrypt it once quantum computers mature. The drives use NIST-approved ML-DSA-87 algorithms to secure firmware integrity and the device trust chain, rather than just data-at-rest encryption. The move addresses a present-day threat as organizations must prepare for long-term cryptographic resilience against future quantum capabilities.

disk WD securing disk drives with post-quantum cryptography WD has announced disk drives with post-quantum cryptography PQC to prevent ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ HNDL attacks, where adversaries collect encrypted data today to crack once quantum computers mature. Post-quantum cryptography refers to the cracking of current RSA encryption algorithms https://www.rsa.com/resources/blog/zero-trust/setting-the-record-straight-on-quantum-computing-and-rsa-encryption/ by future quantum computers. Suppliers such as Cohesity https://www.blocksandfiles.com/public-cloud/2025/03/26/cohesity-launches-netbackup-11-with-quantum-proof-encryption/1601511 , Commvault https://www.blocksandfiles.com/security/2025/06/11/commvault-bulks-up-on-post-quantum-encryption-algorithms/1612576 , NetApp https://www.blocksandfiles.com/security/2025/04/29/netapp-boosts-storage-security-with-post-quantum-encryption/1610355 and Quantum https://www.blocksandfiles.com/ai-ml/2025/10/31/quantum-gets-post-quantum-cryptography-tech-through-entanglement/1590465 have all produced products with new encryption algorithms, call post-quantum crytopgraphy, to prevent this taking place. Now WD is joining in. Its new Ultrastar DC HC6100 UltraSMR drives use NSIT-approved ML-DSA-87 algorithms to protect firmware integrity and the device trust chain, WD says, “rather than just data-at-rest encryption.” It says HNDL is a present-day threat. Adversaries may collect encrypted or signed data today with the intent to decrypt or forge security signatures once quantum capabilities mature. Organisations must begin to prepare for long-term cryptographic resilience today. Dr. Xiaodong Carl Che, CTO and SVP at WD, said: “As AI data compounds and becomes more valuable and long-lived, securing it for the future is no longer optional. Quantum computing represents one of the most significant technology transitions of our time, and it is advancing faster than many organisations anticipate. The security architectures that have protected enterprise storage for more than a decade will need to evolve.” "Integrating post-quantum cryptography into our Ultrastar enterprise-class drives is part of our commitment to helping customers stay ahead of threats that are already present in the form of HNDL attacks. By aligning with NIST standards and CNSA 2.0 today, we are helping enterprises build a clear, low-friction path to quantum-safe storage infrastructure.” There are three features WD wants us to appreciate; - Algorithm selection: ML-DSA-87 NIST FIPS 204 for high-assurance code signing, with dual-signing using RSA-3072 combining proven and emerging cryptographic standards to ensure strong, resilient security. - Infrastructure readiness: PQC-capable public key infrastructure PKI and hardware security module HSM workflows deployed to support key issuance, rotation, and lifecycle management. - Operational continuity: Dual-signing and rollback safeguards designed to support deployment across diverse fleets without disrupting current operations. What WD is not saying is how much capacity the drives have, their sequential data transfer rate, workload rating, and cache size. No doubt that will come out eventually. We have asked for this information. In product naming terms, the H6100 follows the earlier HC690, H680 and H590 SMR Shingled Magnetic Recording drives. The October 2024-announced HC690 https://www.blocksandfiles.com/disk/2024/10/15/western-digital-matches-seagates-32-tb-hamr-capacity-with-11-platter-epmr-hdds/1597893 is a nearline 7200rpm drive with a 32 TB capacity rating and 11 internal platters. We would guess the H6100 is another nearline drive with around 40 TB of capacity. WD has previously said that it’s qualifying 40 TB SMR drives https://www.blocksandfiles.com/ai-ml/2026/02/03/western-digital-blows-hard-disk-drive-future-wide-open/4090494 with hyperscalers and we think the H6100 is the drive in question. Toshiba is sampling a 34 TB SMR drive. https://www.blocksandfiles.com/disk/2026/03/31/toshiba-goes-glassy-eyed-with-11-platter-34tb-smr-drive/5213568 Seagate has a 44 TB SMR drive https://www.blocksandfiles.com/disk/2026/03/25/seagate-if-youre-adding-platters-youve-hit-a-density-wall/5211295 . Read a WD “ Post-Quantum Cryptography for Enterprise HDDs https://blog.westerndigital.com/post-quantum-cryptography-enterprise-hdd-security " blog for more information. This blog has a downloadable PQC white paper. https://documents.westerndigital.com/content/dam/doc-library/en us/assets/public/western-digital/collateral/white-paper/white-paper-post-quantum-cryptography-enterprise-hdd-security.pdf The Ultrastar DC HC6100 with PQC is currently in qualification at hyperscale customers, and WD says it will eventually expand this capability across additional enterprise hard drives.