How Dell is Securing AI & Preparing for Post-Quantum Threats

As cyber threats evolve in complexity, Dell Technologies is reinforcing its security portfolio with new capabilities designed to detect, protect and recover from increasingly sophisticated attacks.

The move comes as organisations face heightened risks linked to agentic AI and the looming impact of quantum computing on modern encryption.

The latest updates focus on securing systems at their core, while also extending visibility across AI-driven data environments.

This is particularly critical as cybercriminals begin to target AI pipelines and large-scale data platforms, where sensitive information is both highly valuable and widely distributed.

John Roese, Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief AI Officer at Dell Technologies, highlights the scale of the challenge: “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.”

Securing the hardware layer 

A key focus of Dell’s strategy is strengthening security at the hardware level, an area often targeted in advanced persistent threats.

Its enhanced BIOS Verification capability is designed to detect tampering at the earliest stage of a device’s operation.

By comparing the system’s basic input output system with a secure version stored in the cloud, organisations can quickly identify unauthorised changes that may indicate compromise.

This approach aligns with emerging post-quantum standards, helping future-proof devices against more powerful forms of cyberattack.

For cybersecurity teams, this type of foundational protection is becoming essential.

Attacks that compromise firmware or boot processes can evade traditional endpoint security tools, making early detection critical for maintaining system integrity.

Faster threat detection and data recovery 

Dell has also expanded its data protection capabilities to help organisations respond more effectively to cyber incidents such as ransomware attacks.

Its updated PowerProtect Data Manager introduces an AI-powered assistant that supports security teams during high-pressure recovery scenarios, guiding them through critical steps to restore operations.

At the same time, built-in anomaly detection continuously scans data backups for unusual behaviour, enabling earlier identification of potential threats.

The PowerProtect Data Domain platform extends these protections to distributed environments, ensuring that data remains secure both at rest and in transit.

Enhancements to performance, including faster backup and recovery speeds, are designed to minimise downtime following an attack, a key priority for cyber resilience strategies.

Support for Transport Layer Security 1.3 within the updated operating system further strengthens encryption during data transfers, aligning with recognised standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Expanding threat visibility across AI environments

As AI adoption accelerates, attackers are increasingly targeting the data that powers machine learning models. In response, Dell is extending its managed detection and response (MDR) services to cover storage environments that handle large volumes of unstructured data, including AI workloads.

By integrating MDR capabilities into platforms such as PowerProtect and PowerScale, organisations gain deeper visibility into threats that specifically target AI data pipelines.

This expanded monitoring is crucial as cyber risks shift towards data poisoning, model manipulation and unauthorised data access.

Dell is also introducing enhanced Endpoint Detection and Response capabilities, designed to monitor, investigate and respond to threats across individual devices.

These tools use advanced analytics to detect suspicious behaviour in real time, ensuring rapid escalation to security teams when anomalies are identified.

For example, if a device’s start-up configuration is altered from its secure baseline, an alert is immediately sent for investigation.

This proactive approach reflects a broader shift in cybersecurity towards continuous monitoring and rapid response, particularly as AI-driven threats increase in speed and scale.

In an era where cyberattacks are becoming more automated and more targeted, Dell’s latest updates underline a clear priority for organisations. Cyber resilience must extend from hardware to AI data environments, ensuring that every layer of the digital ecosystem is protected against emerging threats.