Western Digital is shipping the first hard drives with post-quantum cryptography built in, targeting hyperscale AI data centers that can't afford long-term security gaps. The Ultrastar DC HC6100 UltraSMR integrates NIST-approved quantum-resistant algorithms to defend against harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks on data that will persist for decades.

The drives use ML-DSA-87 for code signing alongside RSA-3072 dual-signing to harden firmware integrity and key management rather than data-at-rest encryption. WD is qualifying the drives with hyperscale customers now and aligns with NIST FIPS 204 and CNSA 2.0 standards.

Dr. Xiaodong Che, WD's CTO, frames this as urgent: quantum capabilities are advancing faster than most organizations prepare for. WD plans to expand PQC across more enterprise drives, pushing the industry to embed quantum-resilient security at the infrastructure foundation.