CyberRidge and Menhir Photonics: A Strategic Partnership Advancing Photonic-Layer Security 

Menhir Photonics and CyberRidge have formed a powerful partnership, bringing ultrafast femtosecond laser technology into a new, critical domain: securing high-speed data-in-transit at the physical layer.

While Menhir Photonics’ lasers are already the trusted standard in demanding scientific, industrial, and quantum systems, this collaboration applies their technology in a novel way-protecting high-speed communication networks against Harvest-Now-Decrypt-Later (HNDL) attacks and the looming quantum computing threat.

From Ultrafast Lasers to Ultrahigh Security: The PLS Process

CyberRidge’s Photonic Layer Security (PLS) technology is based on a three-stage, all-optical process specifically designed to make intercepted optical data permanently impossible to record and use.

The core stages are:

• Spectral Spreading: Expanding the optical signal across ultra-wide (multi-THz) bandwidth in C-Band.
• Optical Phase Manipulation: Applying a continuously evolving, pseudo-random photonic key.
• Noise Loading: Actively burying the signal below the noise floor.

The Menhir Photonics Advantage: Precision is Everything

Menhir Photonics’ lasers are perfectly matched to CyberRidge’s needs: they yield ultrashort pulses with exceptional coherence across an extremely wide spectrum. This precision is not just beneficial-it is absolutely essential for the security mechanism to function:

It ensures that the authorized receiver can accurately synchronize and recover the signal.

The high-speed optical phase key ensures that any intercepted light remains incoherent, meaningless, and unrecoverable by an attacker.

This application marks a new, high-stakes role for Menhir Photonics’ femtosecond laser technology-enabling photonic layer security (PLS) for data protection, alongside our established applications in precise timing, metrology, and RF signal generation.

Eliminating the Quantum Threat: A Capability Found Nowhere Else

CyberRidge’s PLS technology creates a capability absent in conventional security systems: a physical-layer protection mechanism that prevents attackers from recording the optical signal at all.

With no recordable signal, there is no raw material to analyze-not today, and not in a quantum future.

Crucially, this eliminates the basis of HNDL attacks and delivers a true post-quantum solution, without requiring any disruptive changes to existing communication infrastructure.

Why the Partnership Works: Synergy and Discipline

The strength of this collaboration stems from shared foundations and complementary technologies:

• Academic Rigor: Both Menhir Photonics and CyberRidge share an academic foundation, grounded in research cultures that value precision, rigorous engineering, and multi-disciplinary thinking.
• Talent: Beyond the foundation, the true synergy comes from our teams-shaped by PhD-level experience and an original way of thinking about complex problems.

This combination makes collaboration natural and highly productive, backed by a strong technological synergy between Menhir Photonics’ reliable, industrial-grade laser solutions and CyberRidge’s innovative security technology.

Looking Ahead: Securing Global Networks with Photonics

Both companies share a long-term vision for using advanced photonics to secure the future of global communication networks.

Florian Emaury, co-founder and CEO of Menhir Photonics, and Professor Dan Sadot, founder and CEO of CyberRidge

Together, we are actively demonstrating how photonics can:

• Redefine data-in-transit protection at the physical layer.
• Provide a true, passive post-quantum solution that safeguards the next generation of optical communication.

This strategic partnership underscores Menhir Photonics’ commitment to driving our high-performance laser technology into critical, high-impact industrial applications.