5G Core networks are entering a decisive phase of post-quantum (PQ) migration: operators and vendors are beginning to advertise PQ-TLS 1.3, PQ-IPsec, and hybrid KEM support across the Service-Based Interface (SBI) and N2, N3, N4 reference points, in line with 3GPP TS 33.501, emerging IETF drafts, and NIST FIPS 203, 204, 205. Yet deploying PQ primitives does not guarantee PQ security. A Network Function may advertise ML-KEM-768 and silently fall back to X25519; negotiate a hybrid KEM but authenticate with ECDSA-P256; present an ML-DSA leaf on a classical chain; or skip mutual TLS altogether. These failures are silent on the wire, and today scanners (testssl.sh, sslyze, Qualys) together with 5G-specific fuzzers are PQ-unaware and telecom-blind. We present PQC Validator, a layered PQC assurance framework purpose-built for the cloud-native 5G Core, comprising a PQ Crypto Engine (L1), a PQ Conformance Prober (L2), a PQ Robustness Tester (L3), a PQ Overhead Meter (L4), and an eBPF Attestation Plane for wire-level ground truth. Its scope spans the full control-plane cryptographic surface: an independent PQ-TLS 1.3 client and server, a strongSwan-driven PQ-IPsec harness for N2/N3/N4, an eBPF/XDP/TC monitoring plane that extracts wire-level ground truth on negotiated groups and signatures, and a Kubernetes-native UI that auto-discovers NFs and emits structured PQ evidence classifying every endpoint as classical, hybrid-pq, or full-pq. A compliance suite spans TLS, PQC, 3GPP SBI, NRF OpenAPI, and security hardening, while a protocol fuzzer exercises CVE-class regressions and downgrade paths.
5G Core networks are entering a decisive phase of post-quantum (PQ) migration: operators and vendors are beginning to advertise PQ-TLS 1.3, PQ-IPsec, and hybrid KEM support across the Service-Based Interface (SBI) and N2, N3, N4 reference points, in line with 3GPP TS 33.501, emerging IETF drafts, and NIST FIPS 203, 204, 205. Yet deploying PQ primitives does not guarantee PQ security. A Network Function may advertise ML-KEM-768 and silently fall back to X25519; negotiate a hybrid KEM but authenticate with ECDSA-P256; present an ML-DSA leaf on a classical chain; or skip mutual TLS altogether. These failures are silent on the wire, and today scanners (testssl.sh, sslyze, Qualys) together with 5G-specific fuzzers are PQ-unaware and telecom-blind. We present PQC Validator, a layered PQC assurance framework purpose-built for the cloud-native 5G Core, comprising a PQ Crypto Engine (L1), a PQ Conformance Prober (L2), a PQ Robustness Tester (L3), a PQ Overhead Meter (L4), and an eBPF Attestation Plane for wire-level ground truth. Its scope spans the full control-plane cryptographic surface: an independent PQ-TLS 1.3 client and server, a strongSwan-driven PQ-IPsec harness for N2/N3/N4, an eBPF/XDP/TC monitoring plane that extracts wire-level ground truth on negotiated groups and signatures, and a Kubernetes-native UI that auto-discovers NFs and emits structured PQ evidence classifying every endpoint as classical, hybrid-pq, or full-pq. A compliance suite spans TLS, PQC, 3GPP SBI, NRF OpenAPI, and security hardening, while a protocol fuzzer exercises CVE-class regressions and downgrade paths.
Quantum computing is reshaping the security landscape of modern telecommunications. The cryptographic foundations that secure todays 5G systems, including RSA, Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), and Diffie-Hellman (DH), are all susceptible to attacks enabled by Shors algorithm. Protecting 5G networks against future quantum adversaries has therefore become an urgent engineering and research priority. In this paper we introduce QORE, a quantum-secure 5G and Beyond 5G (B5G) Core framework that provides a clear pathway for transitioning both the 5G Core Network Functions and User Equipment (UE) to Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC). The framework uses the NIST-standardized lattice-based algorithms Module-Lattice Key Encapsulation Mechanism (ML-KEM) and Module-Lattice Digital Signature Algorithm (ML-DSA) and applies them across the 5G Service-Based Architecture (SBA). A Hybrid PQC (HPQC) configuration is also proposed, combining classical and quantum-safe primitives to maintain interoperability during migration. Experimental validation shows that ML-KEM achieves quantum security with minor performance overhead, meeting the low-latency and high-throughput requirements of carrier-grade 5G systems. The proposed roadmap aligns with ongoing 3GPP SA3 and SA5 study activities on the security and management of post-quantum networks as well as with NIST PQC standardization efforts, providing practical guidance for mitigating quantum-era risks while safeguarding long-term confidentiality and integrity of network data.
The prospect of a cryptographically relevant quantum computer (CRQC) undermines the public-key primitives that secure virtually every layer of modern communication networks, from subscriber authentication in cellular cores to transport-layer key exchange. Adversaries already following a harvest-now, decrypt-later (HNDL) strategy make this threat actionable today for any traffic whose confidentiality must outlast a decade. Following NIST’s finalisation of the first post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards, ML-KEM (FIPS 203), ML-DSA (FIPS 204), and SLH-DSA (FIPS 205) in August 2024, and the selection of HQC as a fourth key-encapsulation candidate in March 2025, research has shifted from algorithm design to network-level integration. This paper reports a PRISMA-2020-compliant systematic literature review of PQC migration in communication networks, structured around five research questions covering protocol and scenario coverage, quantitative performance impact, hybrid cryptography strategies, transition barriers, and open research gaps. Six databases (IEEE Xplore, Scopus, Web of Science, ACM Digital Library, SpringerLink, and MDPI) were searched (3229 records identified); after deduplication, title-keyword screening, full-text eligibility assessment, and a pre-specified quality appraisal (Q1–Q6, threshold ≥3/6) applied to 310 eligible studies, a final synthesis corpus of 141 studies (68 journal articles, 68 conference papers, 4 conference-derived book chapters, 1 workshop paper) was screened, quality-appraised, and synthesised narratively with supporting evidence tables. The review finds that transport-layer protocols (TLS 1.3, QUIC, DTLS 1.3) dominate the literature, that lattice-based ML-KEM/ML-DSA offer the most favourable latency–bandwidth–energy trade-off among standardised families, and that classical–PQC hybrid schemes are the de facto transition strategy across 5G/6G, IoT, VPN, and automotive scenarios, at the cost of 10–100× larger keys/signatures and 8–40% handshake latency overhead. Persistent barriers include constrained-device resource limits, immature hardware acceleration, incomplete IETF/3GPP standardisation, and public-key-infrastructure scaling. We propose a five-level PQC transition-readiness maturity model and identify large-scale field validation, PQC–QKD integration, and lightweight signature schemes as priority directions for future work.
The transition to a cloud-native 5G Service-Based Architecture (SBA) improves scalability but exposes control-plane signaling to emerging quantum threats, including Harvest-Now, Decrypt-Later (HNDL) attacks. While NIST has standardized post-quantum cryptography (PQC), practical, deployable integration in operational 5G cores remains underexplored. This work experimentally integrates NIST-standardized ML-KEM-768 and ML-DSA into an open-source 5G core (free5GC) using a sidecar proxy pattern that preserves unmodified network functions (NFs). Implemented on free5GC, we compare three deployments: (i) native HTTPS/TLS, (ii) TLS sidecar, and (iii) PQC-enabled sidecar. Measurements at the HTTP/2 request-response boundary over repeated independent runs show that PQC increases end-to-end Service-Based Interface (SBI) latency to approximately 54 ms, adding a deterministic 48-49 ms overhead relative to the classical baseline, while maintaining tightly bounded variance (IQR <= 0.2 ms, CV < 0.4%). We also quantify the impact of Certification Authority (CA) security levels, identifying certificate validation as a tunable contributor to overall delay. Overall, the results demonstrate that sidecar-based PQC insertion enables a non-disruptive and operationally predictable migration path for quantum-resilient 5G signaling.
Abstract: This study investigates quantum-safe modernization strategies for critical infrastructure by proposing a rigorous post-quantum (PQ) migration and verification framework that treats cryptographic transition as a safety-critical, multi-system engineering program rather than a routine software upgrade. The core argument is that infrastructure operators face two coupled risks: (i) cryptanalytic obsolescence of classical public-key systems under cryptographically relevant quantum computing and (ii) operational fragility introduced by large-scale cryptographic refactoring across heterogeneous assets such as industrial control systems, substation automation, telecommunications backhaul, and safety instrumentation. To address both, the framework integrates inventory-driven migration planning, hybrid-mode interoperability controls, and verification evidence that is continuously auditable across the asset lifecycle. The manuscript operationalizes verification as a chain of assurance spanning algorithm selection, protocol composition, implementation conformance, and deployment governance. Standardized PQ primitives (e.g., ML‑KEM for key establishment and ML‑DSA/SLH‑DSA for signa-tures) are used as reference baselines, with explicit attention to size and performance implications that alter network and device constraints. Real-data collection is defined as standards-backed parameter extraction, vendor/firmware artifact inspection, and protocol telemetry capture in representative environments. Results are reported as decision-facing tables and figures that quantify payload expansion, transition milestones, and published performance overheads, alongside interpretation of their operational significance for safety and resilience. Keywords: post-quantum cryptography; ML-KEM; ML-DSA; SLH-DSA; CNSA 2.0; critical infrastructure; migration governance; protocol verification; conformance testing; cryptographic agility
Abstract—The advent of fault-tolerant Cryptanalytically Relevant Quantum Computers (CRQCs) presents an existential threat to modern information security. Shor's polynomial-time quantum algorithm renders widely deployed public-key cryptographic primitives—including RSA, Diffie-Hellman (DH), and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECDH/ECDSA)—completely vulnerable to private key derivation. Furthermore, 'Harvest Now, Decrypt Later' (HNDL) adversarial campaigns actively intercept and store encrypted enterprise telemetry today, anticipating future quantum decryption capabilities. In response, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) finalized its primary Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) standards in FIPS 203 (ML-KEM), FIPS 204 (ML-DSA), and FIPS 205 (SLH-DSA). However, transitioning complex enterprise IT ecosystems to quantum-resistant primitives introduces severe architectural and computational disruptions: public key and signature sizes increase by several orders of magnitude, cryptographic handshake latencies escalate, network packets experience Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) fragmentation, and legacy Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) lack microarchitectural support for lattice-based polynomial arithmetic. This paper provides an exhaustive, mathematically grounded technical survey and architectural roadmap for enterprise PQC migration. We formalize the Module Learning with Errors (M-LWE) and Module Short Integer Solution (M-SIS) hardness foundations, evaluate hybrid classical/post-quantum cryptographic transition models across standard transport protocols (TLS 1.3, IKEv2/IPsec, SSH), and formulate an enterprise Crypto-Agility Maturity Model. Furthermore, we construct an empirical enterprise testbed measuring throughput, connection establishment latency, memory footprints, and packet fragmentation across legacy and quantum-resistant suites. Our results show that while ML-KEM-768 achieves microsecond-level encapsulation, its 1,088-byte ciphertext expands TLS ClientHello payloads into multiple TCP segments under constrained networks. Finally, we establish open research directions in post-quantum identity federations, stateful hash signature tracking, and hardware-accelerated polynomial arithmetic. Index Terms—Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), FIPS 203 (ML-KEM), FIPS 204 (ML-DSA), Crypto-Agility, TLS 1.3, Lattice-Based Cryptography, Harvest Now Decrypt Later, Hardware Security Modules (HSM), Enterprise Migration.
Significant performance improvements in bandwidth and latency make 5G a suitable candidate for a wide range of applications, particularly those requiring real-time communication, such as Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and autonomous vehicles. However, today’s security, including modern cryptographic systems, is prone to different attacks caused by the high computational power of quantum computing, highlighting the need for integrating quantum-resistant security measures. To accommodate attacks targeted at 5G networks, there are efforts to move towards TLS-based security, which is the widely accepted standard across networks. However, integrating post-quantum algorithms must also be considered in such a transition. Thus, this paper is the first to perform the integration of Post-quantum TLS (PQ-TLS) protocols into 5G networks and offer a realistic performance evaluation. Our approach focuses on integrating PQ-TLS into the 5G control plane (CP) without requiring a major overhaul, thus ensuring communications’ interoperability even with legacy components of 5G, which may not support TLS. Specifically, we have updated the registration and authentication protocols for both core network functions and user equipment (UE) by implementing a TLS tunneling approach through virtualization. We then evaluate the performance and feasibility of PQ-TLS in enhancing the security of 5G communications on an actual testbed. Our results demonstrate that while PQ algorithms introduce some overhead, they remain viable for 5G applications, particularly for protocols that can run on the core network.