There’s a significant move towards the adoption of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC). While there have been initiatives to transition conventional TCP/IP-based networks to PQC, Quantum Resilient Internet of Things (IoT) networks have not been as widely discussed. Presently, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) employs the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman algorithm for Secure Connection (SC) pairing, which is vulnerable to quantum threats. In this study, we introduce a backward-compatible Post-Quantum Key Exchange (PQKE) protocol for BLE, utilizing the Kyber-512 algorithm that has been adopted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as a post quantum Key Encapsulation Mechanism. Although Kyber-512 is quantum resilient, it has large key pairs and ciphertexts, which presents critical challenges for the limited computational resources of IoT devices. Our performance assessment reveals that with an Attribute Protocol Maximum Transmission Unit (ATT MTU) of 65 bytes, the pairing time increases by approximately 9 folds using our PQKE in comparison to the traditional BLE SC pairing, mainly due to increased data transmission. Nevertheless, by employing a larger ATT MTU, the pairing time of our PQKE mechanism can be minimized to be of the same order of magnitude as current pre-quantum key exchange for BLE. We therefore advocate for the adoption of larger ATT MTU sizes in quantum resilient BLE pairing to ensure the performance and usability of the technology in a post-quantum world.
There’s a significant move towards the adoption of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC). While there have been initiatives to transition conventional TCP/IP-based networks to PQC, Quantum Resilient Internet of Things (IoT) networks have not been as widely discussed. Presently, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) employs the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman algorithm for Secure Connection (SC) pairing, which is vulnerable to quantum threats. In this study, we introduce a backward-compatible Post-Quantum Key Exchange (PQKE) protocol for BLE, utilizing the Kyber-512 algorithm that has been adopted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as a post quantum Key Encapsulation Mechanism. Although Kyber-512 is quantum resilient, it has large key pairs and ciphertexts, which presents critical challenges for the limited computational resources of IoT devices. Our performance assessment reveals that with an Attribute Protocol Maximum Transmission Unit (ATT MTU) of 65 bytes, the pairing time increases by approximately 9 folds using our PQKE in comparison to the traditional BLE SC pairing, mainly due to increased data transmission. Nevertheless, by employing a larger ATT MTU, the pairing time of our PQKE mechanism can be minimized to be of the same order of magnitude as current pre-quantum key exchange for BLE. We therefore advocate for the adoption of larger ATT MTU sizes in quantum resilient BLE pairing to ensure the performance and usability of the technology in a post-quantum world.
The rapid advancement of quantum computing poses significant threats to classical cryptographic methods, such as Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), which currently secure Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud communications. Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), particularly lattice-based schemes, has emerged as a promising alternative. CRYSTALS-Kyber, standardized by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as ML-KEM, has shown efficiency and practicality for constrained IoT devices. Most existing research has focused on PQC within the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol. Consequently, a critical gap exists in understanding PQC’s performance in lightweight IoT protocols. These are Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) and Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), particularly under adverse network conditions. To address this gap, this paper provides a systematic review of the literature on the network resilience and performance of CRYSTALS-Kyber when integrated into these protocols operating over lossy and high-latency networks. Additional challenges include non-standardized integration, resource limitations, and side-channel vulnerabilities. This review provides a structured synthesis of current knowledge, highlights unresolved trade-offs between security and efficiency, and outlines future research directions, including protocol-level optimization, lightweight signature schemes, and resilience testing of PQC-secured IoT protocols under realistic conditions.
Post-quantum (PQ) cryptographic algorithms are currently being developed to be able to resist attacks by quantum computers. The practical use of these algorithms for securing networks will depend on their computational and communication efficiency. In particular, this is critical for the security of wireless communications within the context of consumer IoT devices that may have limited computational power and depend on a constrained wireless bandwidth. To this end, there is a need to evaluate the performance of widely used application layer security standards such as transport layer security (TLS) to understand the use of the existing PQ algorithms that are being evaluated by NIST as a replacement to the current cryptographic algorithms. This paper focuses on two widely used IoT standards Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and WiFi to find out the optimal performing PQ algorithm for their security when used in end-to-end connections over the Internet. By implementing the capability for IP over BLE and all options of TLS connection establishment, we developed a client-server IoT testbed to measure the efficiency of PQ key encapsulation mechanisms (KEMs) and PQ digital signature algorithms. The test results showed that Kyber512 is the ideal KEM while Falcon-512 and Dilithium2 are the best signatures for BLE and WiFi devices. Based on this outcome, we developed a mechanism for IoT devices with multiple communication interfaces, that dynamically chooses a PQ KEM algorithm based on the MAC layer protocol being used at the time.
Post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) algorithms are being developed to guard against quantum-computing attacks, but their behavior in constrained Internet of Things (IoT) environments remains an important topic of discussion. In this work, we study the impact of deploying PQC protocols in IoT networks using the Open Quantum Safe (liboqs) framework. In particular, key encapsulation and digital signature schemes are evaluated in terms of their computational performance, communication costs, and energy consumption. Our results indicate that although PQC operations can be completed in microseconds using general-purpose processors, substantially larger key and ciphertext sizes introduce significant communication overhead. When mapped to common IoT protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), IEEE 802.15.4 (Zigbee), and LoRa, these larger payloads must be divided into multiple packets. In low-payload LoRa networks, for example, ML-KEM handshakes can require up to 62 packets. This level of fragmentation increases latency and energy consumption, thus potentially affecting reliability. Furthermore, when packet delivery probabilities approaching 99% are achieved, handshake success rates can drop to values approaching 50%. These results suggest that communication metrics, rather than computational performance, pose key challenges to PQC deployment in constrained IoT settings.
The growth of quantum computing reveals a series of significant threats to cryptographic systems known today, such as RSA, ECC, and Diffie-Hellman, which are extremely important for Internet security, but are threatened by the increase in possible quantum attacks. The area of public and private key cryptography is vast. Therefore, this article addresses post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms and the challenges of implementing them in Internet of Things (IoT) devices, given the difficulty of application due to restricted resources, such as RAM and clock speed . To this end, we will discuss the need for standardization of algorithms considering low-resource IoT devices, prioritizing RAM over ROM, meeting the needs of low-memory devices, which are lighter. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has validated four cryptographic systems that are secure against quantum attacks. We analyze the implications of these systems on the infrastructure of current networks and will compare in detail these algorithms and their respective strengths, weaknesses, and trade-offs. We evaluate the feasibility of post-quantum encryption (PQC) algorithms in resource-constrained IoT devices using the ESP-WROOM-32 microcontroller. Three cryptographic schemes were implemented and compared.
The expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems has created a high demand for secure cryptographic solutions, even in a future with quantum computing capabilities. Traditional mappings, such as RSA or Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), are expected to be broken by Shor's algorithm, driving the realization of post-quantum cryptography (PQC). This work presents a simulative and prototypical framework for assessing PQC integration in IoT communication. With the liboqs library and NS-3 network simulator, along with the Python scripting language, we implement both NIST-standardized algorithms, such as Dilithium (for signatures) and Kyber (for key encapsulation), as well as the classical RSA and ECC baselines. IoT networks of 50-500 virtual nodes are simulated based on IEEE 802.15.4/6LoWPAN with RPL routing. Performance attributes, including encryption/decryption time, key length, packet delivery ratio, latency, and energy consumption, are collected and evaluated. Preliminary results indicate that PQC incurs additional handshake and key overhead, but is relatively practical, with an average overhead of15−25msper processed secure transaction. The effort provides a replicable testbed, showcasing what we consider the best and worst PQC has to offer for resource-constrained IoT. Targeted at master's students and researchers, this book provides an applied approach to investigate quantum-resilient security in IoT. It encourages future expansion to hardware-in-the-loop validation on embedded devices.
The emergence of quantum computing threatens classical cryptographic systems, including RSA and ECC, potentially compromising the security of pervasive Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. Resourceconstrained IoT devices—such as sensors, embedded controllers, and microcontrollers—face significant challenges in adopting post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) protocols due to computational, memory, and energy limitations. This paper proposes AQ-PQC, an adaptive lightweight hybrid key exchange protocol combining Kyber lattice-based KEM and lightweight elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), specifically designed for constrained devices. AQ-PQC introduces a dynamic parameter tuning algorithm that adjusts key sizes, handshake rounds, and compression ratios based on real-time device state and network conditions. Formal security analysis under the IND-CCA model demonstrates quantum-resistance and forward secrecy. Extensive hardware implementation on Raspberry Pi 4 and ESP32 devices reveals a significant reduction in handshake latency, energy consumption, and memory footprint compared to conventional PQC protocols. The proposed framework provides a practical, reproducible, and secure methodology for post-quantum IoT communications, supporting heterogeneous and resource-limited networks.