Consulting
Independent Quantum Security Consulting
QSECDEF provides quantum security consulting to organisations that need independent expert guidance, not a vendor pitch. We help clients specify projects accurately, align technical and business expectations, source the right team, and structure delivery from first principles. Our consulting draws on a membership of over 2,000 professionals and 60+ operating companies across defence, financial infrastructure, government, and critical national infrastructure.
What We Do
Six areas of quantum consulting
Consulting at QSECDEF covers the full arc of a quantum security project. That starts before the RFP and ends after delivery. Most organisations arrive with a problem statement and a budget. We help them turn those into a project that is correctly specified, properly scoped, and staffed with people who can actually deliver it.
Project Specification
Most quantum security projects fail in the specification phase. Poorly defined scope, underestimated complexity, and misaligned expectations between technical teams and leadership are the common culprits. We work with your team to produce specifications that are technically rigorous and commercially realistic before a single vendor is engaged.
Business Alignment
Quantum security projects span technical, operational, and regulatory domains. Decisions made in the engineering team affect compliance posture; decisions made in procurement affect delivery timelines. We facilitate structured alignment sessions that surface these dependencies early and prevent costly rework.
Team Sourcing and Assembly
Quantum security expertise is scarce and unevenly distributed across vendors and geographies. QSECDEF's membership of 2,000+ professionals and 60+ operating companies gives us access to the right people, regardless of who currently holds a contract. We identify, vet, and assemble specialist teams for defined project scopes.
Vendor-Independent Advisory
We have no commercial relationship with any quantum technology vendor. That independence is not incidental. It is the basis of the advice we give. When we evaluate a technology, a supplier, or a migration pathway, the assessment reflects technical merit and organisational fit. Nothing else.
PQC Migration Planning
Post-quantum cryptography migration is one of the most operationally complex technical transitions organisations have faced. We conduct cryptographic inventory assessments, map algorithm dependencies across systems, prioritise migration sequencing, and produce roadmaps aligned to NIST SP 800-208 and emerging ETSI standards.
Supply Chain Review
Quantum security supply chains contain concentration risks that standard procurement due diligence does not surface. We conduct structured supply chain assessments, identify single points of failure, and produce vendor landscape maps that inform sourcing decisions without creating new dependencies.
Project Types
Projects We Work On
QSECDEF consulting is engaged across a defined set of high-complexity project types. These are not hypothetical. They represent the categories of work our members and consulting team engage with directly.
PQC Migration Programmes
A national payments infrastructure operator running RSA-2048 across settlement systems, interbank messaging, and card processing networks needs to migrate to NIST-selected algorithms (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA) before cryptographic relevance becomes operational risk. The migration must be sequenced without service interruption, coordinated across multiple counterparty systems, and documented to meet emerging regulatory requirements from the Bank for International Settlements and national central bank frameworks.
Most organisations cannot accurately estimate the scope of a PQC migration without a full cryptographic inventory. We build that inventory first.
Discuss this engagementDefence Quantum Security Projects
A NATO-aligned defence contractor needs to assess its communications architecture against quantum threat vectors ahead of NATO's PQC transition roadmap. The assessment must cover classified and unclassified systems, identify algorithm dependencies in embedded hardware, and produce a risk-prioritised migration sequence compatible with NATO STANAG communications standards and national classification frameworks.
Defence projects require cleared expertise and a clear separation between vendor interests and advisory independence. Both are in short supply.
Critical National Infrastructure
A power grid operator or water treatment authority running SCADA systems with legacy cryptographic implementations needs to understand its exposure to quantum-enabled attacks on operational technology (OT) environments. Unlike IT systems, OT environments cannot tolerate unplanned downtime for patching or migration. The assessment must prioritise by operational criticality and produce a migration plan that engineering and security teams can execute within normal maintenance windows.
OT environments have fundamentally different risk profiles and migration constraints than IT environments. Generic PQC guidance does not translate.
Financial Infrastructure Security
A central bank operating a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system or a major card network processing cross-border transactions needs to assess the cryptographic resilience of its core payment infrastructure. This includes SWIFT messaging, HSM key management, digital signature schemes, and counterparty authentication protocols across multiple jurisdictions, each with their own regulatory frameworks and timeline requirements.
Financial infrastructure projects require coordination across regulatory bodies, technology vendors, and counterparty institutions simultaneously. Single-organisation decisions are insufficient.
Advanced AI Security
AI infrastructure (training clusters, model registries, inference endpoints) is a high-value target for quantum-capable adversaries. The cryptographic assumptions protecting these systems were not designed for this threat. QSECDEF works with AI teams across four areas: photonic architecture security, quantum-enhanced training cost reduction, quantum simulation applicability, and cryptographic posture assessment of AI infrastructure.
Training pipelines and model weights demand the same rigorous cryptographic treatment as any critical system. Most AI security reviews do not yet account for quantum threat vectors.
Discuss this engagementWhy Choose Us
Why Organisations Choose QSECDEF
There are other organisations providing quantum security advice. Most are selling something alongside it. Here is what makes QSECDEF different.
Vendor Independence
QSECDEF receives no revenue from technology vendors. No referral fees, no partner margins, no preferred supplier agreements. When we recommend a technology or a supplier, it is because it fits the requirement, not because it pays us. This matters most when the market is immature and vendor claims are difficult to verify independently.
Member Network
Our membership of 2,000+ professionals spans cryptographers, systems architects, procurement specialists, policy advisors, and operational security leads across more than 40 countries. When a project requires specialist expertise that does not exist in a single firm, we find it. This is not a directory. It is an active network with direct relationships.
Technical Depth
QSECDEF was built by practitioners, not consultants. The team includes people who have implemented PQC in live systems, who have presented to NATO working groups, and who have written the training curricula that other organisations use. The advice comes from people who have done the work, not people who have read about it.
Sector Specificity
Quantum security challenges in a central bank are not the same as those in a defence supply chain. We do not apply generic frameworks to specific problems. Our consulting is structured around sectors: the regulatory environments, the technology dependencies, and the decision-making structures that are specific to each one. Twenty industry practices, each built from the ground up.
How It Works
How a Consulting Engagement Works
Most clients come to us with a defined problem but an undefined scope. The process below is how we turn that into a structured, deliverable project.
Discovery
We begin with a structured discovery session. No templates, no pre-filled decks. The goal is to understand your organisation's specific context: what systems are in scope, what the business objectives are, who the stakeholders are, and what constraints exist. Duration: one to three sessions depending on complexity.
Scope Definition
We produce a written scope document that defines what the engagement covers, what it does not cover, the key deliverables, the timeline, and the assumptions on which the scope is based. This document is the contract baseline. Changes to scope after this point are tracked explicitly.
Team Assembly
For engagements requiring specialist expertise beyond our core team, we draw on the QSECDEF member network to assemble the right people. Each team member is selected for their specific skills and their fit with the client context, not for their availability.
Delivery
Delivery structure varies by engagement type. Strategy projects typically produce a written report with a board-ready summary and a technical annex. Migration projects produce a phased roadmap with defined decision gates. Supply chain assessments produce a risk-prioritised vendor landscape and a sourcing recommendation.
Knowledge Transfer
We do not retain clients through dependency. Every engagement ends with a knowledge transfer session that ensures your internal team understands what was done, why, and what happens next. The goal is that you can act independently on the outputs.
Industry Coverage
Consulting by Industry
Each industry practice is built around the specific regulatory, technical, and operational context of that industry. Select your industry below.
National Intelligence
Intelligence agencies and national security organisations.
European Defence
Defence contractors, armed forces, and procurement agencies.
Managed CyberDefence
Cybersecurity teams and security operations centres.
Financial Infrastructure
Banks, asset managers, payment infrastructure, and insurers.
Retail and Logistics
Retailers, logistics operators, and supply chain managers.
Power and Energy
Grid operators, energy producers, and utility providers.
Manufacturing
Industrial manufacturers with OT and supply chain dependencies.
Public Administration
Central and local government, public sector agencies.
Insurance
Insurers, reinsurers, and actuarial teams modelling quantum risk exposure.
Hospitals and Healthcare
Hospital networks, medical device manufacturers, and health data processors.
Telecommunications
Network operators, spectrum authorities, and telecommunications equipment vendors.
Digital Media
Content platforms, digital rights management operators, and broadcast infrastructure.
Artificial Intelligence
AI developers, model operators, and organisations running inference at scale.
Automotive
Vehicle manufacturers, tier-one suppliers, and connected mobility platform operators.
Space
Satellite operators, launch agencies, and ground segment technology providers.
Law and Policy
Legal practices, regulatory bodies, and policy institutions advising on quantum risk.
Minerals and Mining
Mining operators, resource extraction companies, and industrial control system vendors.
Smart City Development
Smart city programme offices, urban infrastructure operators, and IoT platform vendors.
Emergency Services
Police, fire, ambulance, and emergency coordination centre communications operators.
Cloud and Data Centres
Cloud platform operators, colocation providers, and hyperscale data centre operators.
Start a Conversation
Describe your organisation, the project you are working on, and what you need help with. We will respond within two working days with an initial assessment of how we can help and what a scoped engagement might look like.
Independent. Vendor-neutral. No sales pitch.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of organisations does QSECDEF consult with?
We work with defence contractors, government agencies, central banks and financial market infrastructure operators, critical national infrastructure operators, and large enterprises preparing for post-quantum cryptography migration. Engagements range from a single scoping assessment to multi-year advisory relationships. Organisation size is less relevant than technical complexity and decision-making seriousness.
What does vendor-independent actually mean in practice?
It means QSECDEF has no commercial agreements with any quantum technology vendor. We do not receive referral fees, placement margins, or partner revenue from any supplier. Our assessment of a technology or a vendor reflects the technical evidence available and the fit with the client's specific requirements. If a vendor's product is the right choice for a given situation, we will say so. If it is not, we will say that too.
How is QSECDEF different from a traditional management consultancy?
Traditional management consultancies hire generalists who are trained to apply structured frameworks. QSECDEF consulting draws on people who have implemented quantum security in live environments, contributed to standards bodies, and built organisations in this space. The expertise is native, not acquired. We also operate at a different scale: our member network gives us access to specialist talent that no single firm can employ directly.
Can QSECDEF help with a project that is already underway?
Yes. We work on projects at any stage. Where a project is already in delivery, we typically begin with a structured review of current scope, team, and progress before making recommendations. We do not assume that what has already been done is wrong. We assess it on its merits.
Does QSECDEF work alongside existing vendors or in-house teams?
Regularly. Most clients have existing vendor relationships and internal security teams. We operate as an independent advisory layer that complements those relationships. Our role is not to displace your current team or supplier. It is to provide the independent technical perspective and network access that those teams typically cannot provide for themselves.
What is the minimum engagement size?
We do not publish fixed pricing for consulting engagements, as scope varies significantly between projects. A scoping assessment for a defined project can be completed in a matter of days. A full PQC migration roadmap for a complex organisation typically runs across several months. Get in touch with a description of what you are working on and we will provide an honest assessment of what a structured engagement would involve.
Is QSECDEF membership required to access consulting?
No. Consulting is available to non-members. Members at Expert tier ($5,000/yr) receive 10 hours of advisory access per month as part of their membership. For project-specific consulting beyond that, or for organisations not currently members, engagements are scoped and priced individually.
What standards and frameworks does QSECDEF consulting work to?
Our PQC migration work references NIST SP 800-208, NIST FIPS 203/204/205 (the finalised ML-KEM, ML-DSA, and SLH-DSA standards), ETSI EN 303 645, and relevant national frameworks including NCSC guidance (UK), BSI technical guidelines (Germany), and ANSSI recommendations (France). We do not apply a single proprietary methodology. We work to the most relevant current standards for the client's jurisdiction and sector.