Entrokey Labs wants to change how we think about cybersecurity, without forcing anyone to change their infrastructure.
When Patrick Hearn and Eric Dresdale joined the founding team of Entrokey Labs, they weren’t chasing hype. They were responding to an invisible but urgent threat: encryption keys that aren’t as secure as we think they are, and a rapidly closing window to fix them.
“We’ve spent decades trusting encryption to protect everything — bank accounts, government systems, even private messages,” says Hearn, a veteran of global PKI and identity infrastructure. “But that trust is built on keys that are fundamentally flawed.”
The flaw? Entropy. Or more accurately, the lack of it.
Why Entropy Is Everything (And Why It’s Failing)
At the heart of every encryption system is a key, a string of data that needs to be truly random to be secure. But AI is now capable of spotting subtle patterns in these keys, exposing vulnerabilities before we even notice.
Add quantum computing to the mix, and today’s encryption models don’t just look outdated — they risk becoming irrelevant.
Dresdale, a fintech entrepreneur whose previous startup was acquired, puts it simply: “You can have the best algorithm in the world. But if your keys aren’t truly random, it doesn’t matter.”
A Software-Only Solution to a Hardware-Created Problem
While most post-quantum security solutions rely on hardware like quantum random number generators (QRNGs), Entrokey took a different path.
Their AI-driven platform uses filtered cosmic data to generate high-entropy, self-auditing cryptographic keys purely through software. It works in milliseconds, on any device, and at any edge of the network.
Their innovation is backed by patents, including one granted in under 90 days, that underpin their proprietary method for entropy generation and pattern scoring.
Crypto Agility: The Real Pain Point They’re Solving
What sets Entrokey apart isn’t just that their keys are secure — it’s that they can plug into what you’re already using.
This is where crypto agility becomes mission-critical. Organizations are now required to migrate to post-quantum algorithms, but those shifts can be costly, complex, and disruptive. Entrokey’s approach avoids all of that.
“You don’t need to rip and replace your systems,” says Hearn. “You can achieve post-quantum resilience while maintaining the architecture you trust today.”
Their software integrates directly into OpenSSL, BoringSSL, Keycloak, and other enterprise tools — future-proofing infrastructure without rewriting it.
Founders Who’ve Built Before But Say This Is Bigger
Hearn has led multi-country digital identity programs. Dresdale scaled and sold fintech startups. Together, as part of a larger founding and technical team, they’ve helped bring in military leadership (including retired Lt. Gen. Rick Moore) and researchers with dozens of patents to drive a singular mission: make encryption viable again in the age of AI and quantum.
“We’re not saying the world needs to panic,” says Dresdale. “We’re saying there’s a smarter way forward — and we’ve built it.”
And if Entrokey Labs is right, the future of cybersecurity doesn’t require new hardware or mass overhauls. It just requires smarter, flexible, and agile software, built to evolve with the threats we can’t yet see.
