Dell adds quantum-ready security for PCs & AI data

Dell has introduced new security and cyber resilience features across its PC, data protection and managed detection products, targeting risks linked to AI systems and quantum computing.

The update covers Dell commercial PCs, the PowerProtect data protection range and its managed detection and response services. It includes what Dell describes as quantum-ready firmware protections, new AI-assisted recovery tools and expanded monitoring for AI data platforms.

Dell is starting at the device layer, where quantum computing could threaten the encryption and digital signature methods used to protect software integrity and data, especially in firmware components below the operating system.

Its latest commercial PC protections are designed to harden the embedded controller, which manages low-level hardware functions, by verifying firmware updates with signatures intended to withstand future quantum attacks. The aim is to reduce the risk of tampered firmware being accepted during updates and to address supply chain concerns.

Dell is also adding a revised BIOS Verification feature that checks the BIOS against a trusted reference stored in its cloud. If the reference does not match, the system flags the device and sends an alert for investigation.

Recovery tools

Beyond prevention, Dell is extending features in its PowerProtect cyber resilience portfolio to help organisations identify ransomware earlier and recover more quickly when attacks occur.

PowerProtect Data Manager now includes an AI-powered assistant that offers contextual guidance during recovery tasks. Dell is also adding anomaly detection that scans PowerStore snapshots for signs of ransomware risk, alongside a unified dashboard for managing distributed systems.

Dell cited its Cyber Resilience Insights research, which found that 40% of global organisations successfully contained and recovered from a cyberattack or incident drill with minimal impact. The figure highlights the gap between backup investments and practical recovery, particularly when incidents spread across multiple systems.

Dell is also updating PowerProtect Data Domain, including a version for smaller sites. In Dell's internal testing, the PowerProtect Data Domain DD3410 appliance delivered up to 2x faster backups and 46% faster data restores than the DD3300 model, while the updated Data Domain Operating System adds support for Transport Layer Security 1.3 for encrypted connections between systems.

AI environments

The other part of the announcement focuses on threat detection in data platforms used for AI workloads. Traditional endpoint tools can miss activity in environments where unstructured data is stored and processed, creating visibility gaps that attackers can exploit, Dell said.

To address that, Dell is extending its Managed Detection and Response service to PowerScale, its scale-out storage platform often used for AI and data-intensive workloads. The service is intended to give customers visibility into suspicious activity affecting data in those environments, with response actions supported by Dell security analysts.

Dell is also introducing an endpoint detection and response-only option. The service monitors and investigates endpoint threats and, when used with Dell PCs, can use BIOS verification results as an additional signal. If a BIOS no longer matches its baseline, an alert can be sent to Dell's MDR team for investigation.

The move reflects a broader shift in cybersecurity strategy as companies seek to protect not only end-user devices and central systems, but also the data estates used to train, run and support AI applications. As more valuable data is concentrated in these platforms, detection and recovery are becoming as important as perimeter protection.

John Roese, Global CTO and Chief AI Officer, Dell Technologies, said: "Quantum computing will break the encryption and digital signatures protecting data today, while agentic AI raises the stakes by increasing the value of data and autonomously shares it across teams and organisations. We've been preparing for both shifts for almost a decade through our investments in post-quantum cryptography and our approach to cyber resilience and security by design. We are continuing to bring these protections across our portfolio to help organisations navigate emerging technologies and stay ahead of tomorrow's threats."

Dell included customer feedback from Palladium Hotel Group, which uses PowerProtect products in its operations. Javier González Belinchón, Director, Corporate Infrastructure & Operations, Palladium Hotel Group, said: "In luxury hospitality, even a brief IT disruption during peak operations can have a major impact. We work with heavy workloads, and PowerProtect Data Manager's Transparent Snapshots make a real difference. We get no business disruption, lower risk of data loss and the VM backup times are cut in half. Coupled with our PowerProtect Data Domain appliance, deduplication and compression optimise bandwidth, remote backups are seamless and storage requirements are drastically reduced."

Industry analysts also pointed to the growing importance of visibility across AI infrastructure. Fernando Montenegro, Vice President & Practise Lead, Cybersecurity & Resilience, Futurum, said: "As AI adoption expands, security teams need to protect more high-value data in areas where traditional controls may not provide adequate visibility into how threats move across AI workloads and data platforms. Dell's approach reflects this broader cyber resilience strategy aimed at reducing risk, deepening security visibility and helping organisations recover more effectively when incidents occur."