Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is designed to be secure against attacks from quantum computers, yet it remains vulnerable to classic side-channel attacks (SCAs), which exploit physical implementation leaks. This manuscript examines the various SCAs used to evaluate PQC schemes, focusing on non-invasive techniques such as timing, power, and electromagnetic analysis. We provide a detailed account of the execution of these attacks against diverse PQC algorithms and identify common vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Our study reveals that, while various countermeasures have been proposed to protect PQC implementations, they are not entirely effective against sophisticated attacks. Stronger and more resilient countermeasures are needed, especially in IoT environments. The review highlights the weaknesses in the current defenses, including the necessity for more robust masking techniques, adequate security countermeasures tailored to IoT constraints, and methods to generalize SCAs across diverse hardware platforms. These issues must be addressed to enhance the practical security of PQC schemes in real-world scenarios.
Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is designed to be secure against attacks from quantum computers, yet it remains vulnerable to classic side-channel attacks (SCAs), which exploit physical implementation leaks. This manuscript examines the various SCAs used to evaluate PQC schemes, focusing on non-invasive techniques such as timing, power, and electromagnetic analysis. We provide a detailed account of the execution of these attacks against diverse PQC algorithms and identify common vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Our study reveals that, while various countermeasures have been proposed to protect PQC implementations, they are not entirely effective against sophisticated attacks. Stronger and more resilient countermeasures are needed, especially in IoT environments. The review highlights the weaknesses in the current defenses, including the necessity for more robust masking techniques, adequate security countermeasures tailored to IoT constraints, and methods to generalize SCAs across diverse hardware platforms. These issues must be addressed to enhance the practical security of PQC schemes in real-world scenarios.
This survey is on forward-looking, emerging security concerns in post-quantum era, i.e., the implementation attacks for 2022 winners of NIST post-quantum cryptography (PQC) competition and thus the visions, insights, and discussions can be used as a step forward towards scrutinizing the new standards for applications ranging from Metaverse, Web 3.0 to deeply-embedded systems. The rapid advances in quantum computing have brought immense opportunities for scientific discovery and technological progress; however, it poses a major risk to today's security since advanced quantum computers are believed to break all traditional public-key cryptographic algorithms. This has led to active research on PQC algorithms that are believed to be secure against classical and powerful quantum computers. However, algorithmic security is unfortunately insufficient, and many cryptographic algorithms are vulnerable to side-channel attacks (SCA), where an attacker passively or actively gets side-channel data to compromise the security properties that are assumed to be safe theoretically. In this survey, we explore such imminent threats and their countermeasures with respect to PQC. We provide the respective, latest advancements in PQC research, as well as assessments and providing visions on the different types of SCAs.
Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) is a rapidly developing field that addresses the potential threat quantum computers pose to the security of current cryptographic algorithms. With the rapid advancement of quantum computing technologies, it has become imperative to identify and standardize new cryptographic techniques that can withstand attacks from quantum computers. This paper explores the motivation behind PQC and provides an overview of the experimental research conducted in the field. It highlights the vulnerabilities of traditional cryptographic algorithms, such as RSA and ECC, to quantum attacks and emphasizes the need for transitioning to quantum-resistant alternatives. The experiments conducted in the PQC domain encompass the evaluation and analysis of candidate algorithms submitted to the NIST PQC competition. These experiments involve comprehensive security assessments, performance evaluations, and code audits to ensure the suitability and effectiveness of the proposed algorithms in real-world scenarios. This paper provides guidelines for organizations and practitioners adopting PQC. It discusses considerations for selecting and implementing post-quantum cryptographic algorithms, including security levels, algorithmic characteristics, performance tradeoffs, and integration challenges. It also outlines the importance of a smooth transition from classical to post-quantum cryptographic systems and highlights the need for standardization efforts to ensure interoperability and compatibility.
With the constantly advancing capabilities of quantum computers, conventional cryptographic systems relying on complex math problems may encounter unforeseen vulnerabilities. Unlike regular computers, which are often deemed cost-ineffective in cryptographic attacks, quantum computers have a significant advantage in calculation speed. This distinction potentially makes currently used algorithms less secure or even completely vulnerable, compelling the exploration of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) as the most reasonable solution to quantum threats. This review aims to provide current information on applications, benefits, and challenges associated with the PQC. The review employs a systematic scoping review with the scope restricted to the years 2022 and 2023; only articles that were published in scientific journals were used in this paper. The review examined the articles on the applications of quantum computing in various spheres. However, the scope of this paper was restricted to the domain of the PQC because most of the analyzed articles featured this field. Subsequently, the paper is analyzing various PQC algorithms, including lattice-based, hash-based, code-based, multivariate polynomial, and isogeny-based cryptography. Each algorithm is being judged based on its potential applications, robustness, and challenges. All the analyzed algorithms are promising for the post-quantum era in such applications as digital signatures, communication channels, and IoT. Moreover, some of the algorithms are already implemented in the spheres of banking transactions, communication, and intellectual property. Meanwhile, despite their potential, these algorithms face serious challenges since they lack standardization, require vast amounts of storage and computation power, and might have unknown vulnerabilities that can be discovered only with years of cryptanalysis. This overview aims to give a basic understanding of the current state of post-quantum cryptography with its applications and challenges. As the world enters the quantum era, this review not only shows the need for strong security methods that can resist quantum attacks but also presents an optimistic outlook on the future of secure communications, guided by advancements in quantum technology. By bridging the gap between theoretical research and practical implementation, this paper aims to inspire further innovation and collaboration in the field.
Public key cryptography plays a pivotal role in maintaining digital security and privacy, with its foundations built on the hardness of certain mathematical problems. However, the emergence of quantum computing threatens the security of current cryptographic systems, making the adoption of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) an urgent necessity. Digital signature schemes are essential components in secure communications, providing authentication, non-repudiation, and data integrity. This paper examines the state of post-quantum digital signature schemes across various cryptographic approaches, including lattice-based, code-based, multivariate polynomial-based, hash-based, symmetric-key-based, and isogeny-based systems, alongside advancements in Multi-Party Computation in the Head (MPC-in-the-head) schemes. The paper then explores application-specific signatures such as blind, undeniable, threshold, chameleon, aggregate, and ring signatures, explaining their main use cases and the existing post-quantum cryptographic classifications that support these constructions individually. Software implementations of selected prominent PQC digital signature schemes were carried out, and their performance was systematically analysed using metrics such as bandwidth consumption, latency, and computational efficiency. These results provide key observations regarding the suitability of different schemes for both resource-constrained and high-performance environments. Subsequently, a detailed literature review of implementations on embedded and hardware platforms is presented, focusing on ARM-based devices and FPGA accelerators to evaluate deployment feasibility beyond general-purpose processors. Based on the software and implementation-level findings, a comparative analysis across software, embedded, and hardware platforms is conducted to highlight architectural influences on performance, scalability, and practicality. Furthermore the cryptanalytic attacks on post-quantum digital signature schemes across various PQC classifications are examined in this paper, taking into account both classical and quantum adversarial models. To evaluate realistic security constraints, implementation-oriented vulnerabilities such as side-channel and fault-based attacks are also examined. In addition, the applicability of post-quantum digital signature schemes within TLS, IoT, and related practical deployment scenarios is analysed. The study also discusses possible directions for further investigation, focusing on the requirement for effective and expandable PQC systems that can satisfy changing cybersecurity requirements. In order to protect sensitive data in the digital era, this study emphasizes the need for implementing quantum-secure systems by fusing theoretical understandings with real-world applications.
With the growth and advancement of quantum computing, conventional cryptographic methods are becoming increasingly vulnerable, particularly in the core aspects of cybersecurity, including identity, asset, and network security. In detail, the following paper will provide a systematic analysis of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) in these areas. It discusses the theoretical foundations and operational potential of PQC algorithms, including those based on lattices, which aim to withstand quantum attacks, enhance authentication systems, protect digital assets, and maintain secure network communications. Considering the standards efforts, such as the work by NIST and real-life projects (current implementations of NewHope by Google and pilot projects by AWS), as well as the implementation difficulties that the domain faces, the article provides an overview of strategies related to migration. It explains both the potential and the challenges that face the introduction of PQC into current security infrastructures. It focuses on hybrid cryptography, side-channel robustness, performance trade-offs, and regulatory issues. Ultimately, the findings of this study suggest adopting PQC as a proactive rather than a defensive approach, providing an opportunity to redesign the structure of contemporary cybersecurity to achieve greater security in the face of emerging threats in the future.
The potential of quantum computing to compromise traditional public-key cryptography (PKC) has led to a pressing need for more efficient and resilient cryptographic methods. Recent advancements, such as the 800x improvement in the logical error rate by Microsoft and QUANTINUUM, underscore the urgency of this issue. Post-quantum cryptography (PQC) offers a promising solution designed to withstand quantum attacks. This paper examines how PQC and other advanced cryptographic techniques can enhance the security and efficiency of PKC in the quantum era. Current PKC methods, despite revolutionizing secure online communication, are vulnerable to flaws in their underlying algorithms. The proposed hybrid model integrates PQC with traditional PKC, leveraging both technologies' strengths to mitigate quantum threats while preserving established security benefits. The investigation addresses critical research questions: how to enhance PKC key management for better efficiency and security, and which PQC techniques can protect PKC from quantum attacks. This paper's contribution includes identifying vulnerabilities in existing PKC, comparing RSA and post-quantum algorithms, and implementing a PQC algorithm between a client and server to analyze integration with existing protocols. Finally, the paper recommends security mechanisms to improve PQC protocols, ensuring robust protection against emerging quantum computing capabilities.