Sheffield-based post-quantum cybersecurity specialist Sitehop has launched a dedicated national security unit aimed at protecting legacy defense infrastructure across the UK and its Five Eyes intelligence partners (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). Designed to counter “harvest now, decrypt later” risks and AI-driven cyber threats, the initiative delivers sovereign, hardware-rooted post-quantum cryptography (PQC) without requiring expensive replacements of aging defense operational technology (OT) networks.
| [ Sitehop National Security Unit Architecture ] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hardware Platform | Security Architecture | Deployment Target |
| • SAFEcore Edge Encryption Unit | • Reprogrammable Hardware Stack | • Five Eyes Allied Infrastructure |
| • World’s Smallest PQC Footprint | • Auto-Wipe Tamper Resistance | • Defense OT & Legacy Retrofits |
| • Network-Layer Security Retrofit | • Air-Gapped Physical Isolation | • Sovereign UK Supply Chain |
Hardware-Rooted Defense Against Legacy Network Vulnerabilities
Much of the legacy equipment operating across Western defense estates cannot be easily updated with modern software-defined cryptographic standards. Conventional Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) systems run management, configuration, and payload data on shared processors, leaving software attack surfaces vulnerable to state-sponsored exploit chains:
- Reprogrammable Hardware Stack: Unlike standard software PQC implementations, Sitehop’s technology operates on reprogrammable hardware. It encrypts traffic directly at the network layer, securing legacy systems without requiring software alterations to underlying operational hardware.
- Tamper-Resistant SAFEcore Edge: Built around the company’s compact SAFEcore Edge encryption device, the hardware includes auto-wipe physical tamper resistance. If physically compromised or breached in the field, the unit automatically wipes all cryptographic keys and memory, resetting to an unrecoverable factory state.
- Sovereign Supply Chain Guarantee: Designed and manufactured entirely within the UK, the platform provides Western allies with a sovereign alternative to overseas cryptographic hardware suppliers.
Commercial Track Record and Defense Footprint
The launch follows commercial deployments and validation testing across telecom and enterprise environments:
- Telecom and Commercial Proofs of Concept: Sitehop’s hardware has been deployed across seven countries with a tier-one global telecommunications provider, tested in BT’s flagship network test facility, and piloted with a major UK retailer for payment data protection.
- Leadership Alignment: Led by CEO Melissa Chambers and CTO Ben Harper (a former defense and intelligence technology specialist at a leading UK defense prime), the new unit targets immediate network retrofits while long-term defense modernization programs remain underway.
Review the announcement on Prolific North here.
August 25, 2026